General Lincoln

SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS.

0 officer in the British army did more for the cause of his king, or better deserved success, than did Lord Cornwallis. Fertile in stratagem, brave and persevering even to rashness, rapid in the combination and execution of his plans, he moved as a superior among all the English generals of the revolution. During the campaigns in the Jerseys, and around Philadelphia, he was continually in the most arduous and weighty services; and when the South became the favourite field of the ministry, he was appointed to command in that quarter. There his very name was a terror; and the boldest troops relaxed from their bearing when it was announced that Cornwallis was their enemy.

The 19th of October, 1781, was the day apppinted for the surrender of the garrison at Yorktown. At twelve o'clock, the combined army was drawn up in two lines; the Americans on the right, commanded by General Washington, in full uniform, and attended by his aids; on the left, were' the French troops under Count Rochambeau, and his suite. The French marched to their stations finely dressed, and with regular dignified step, to the sound of national music. In every direction thousands of spectators, grouped into crowds, were eagerly anticipating a sight of that formidable army, whose presence they had so often fled. Horses, carriages, every kind of vehicle, were extended in long rows, filled in many places with anxious spectators.

At length a movement was observed in the town, and soon General O'Hara, mounted on a splendid charger, issued from the gates. Every eye was riveted to the spot, in order to get a view of Cornwallis -the proud conqueror of the South. Slowly and gracefully O'Hara rode toward Washington, and yet the earl appeared not. Then the British general approached the commander, removed his hat, and was referred to General Lincoln. Now the mystery was explained. Cornwallis would not appear as a prisoner of those he had been so long accustomed to conquer.

Slowly following their general, came the British troops, with shouldered arms, cased colours, and treading to the solemn tones of a national march. They were met by General Lincoln near the centre of the enclosed space, and conducted to the field where the ceremony was to take place. They were dressed in uniform entirely new, which presented a beautiful appearance; but their march was irregular and disorderly, and the ranks frequently broken. But when the last act of their humiliation came, when they were to resign the arms with which they had so frequently swept everything before them, shame and mortified pride could no longer be concealed. The command to ground arms, seemed torn by compulsion from most of the officers; and was obeyed by many in a manner irritable and sullen. Observing this, Lincoln rode along the line and restored order. At the same time the troops at Gloucester Point surrendered in a similar manner to General de Chaise.

The whole number that capitulated at Yorktown, was seven thousand two hundred and forty-seven; seventy-five brass, and one hundred and sixty-nine iron cannon; seven thousand seven hundred and ninety-four muskets; eighteen German standards and ten British ones, with a large amount of provisional and other stores were taken. The military chest contained two thousand one hundred and thirteen pounds six shillings, sterling.

The news of the capture and surrender of Cornwallis, produced an effect throughout the country unappreciable by those who live at a later day. When the panting messenger announced to Congress, that Cornwallis had fallen, the door-keeper swooned at his station; the voice of the orator was hushed; all business was suspended, and the members hastened to the temple of God, to return pubJic thanks to Almighty Providence. The workman Jeft his tools; the student his closet; and even ladies their seclusion; crowds rushed through the streets and lanes, or assembled in groups, reading the news to the unlearned. The rich and the poor, the slave and his master; the gentleman and the mendicant, were for a moment equal; and one wild shout-the burst of a nation's exultation, pealed up throughout the land. The Hector of the British host had fallen, and all felt that his cause could not long survive.