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Student Worksheet Packet

Siege Warfare: How Yorktown Was Won

Yorktown, VA

Grades 6-8·2 class periods

Students examine the mechanics and strategy of 18th-century siege warfare using Yorktown as the primary case study. Through maps, primary accounts, and step-by-step analysis of the parallel construction, students understand why the siege succeeded and what role the French alliance played.

This Packet Includes

  • Learning Objectives & Essential Questions
  • 5 Primary Source Analysis Worksheets
  • 3 Reading & Activity Handouts
  • Assessment Quiz (5 questions)
Unit:Siege Warfare: How Yorktown Was Won — Lesson Overview
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Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Explain how 18th-century siege warfare worked: parallels, redoubts, artillery reduction
  2. Identify the sequence of events at Yorktown from October 6 through October 19, 1781
  3. Analyze the essential roles of the French navy (de Grasse) and French army (Rochambeau) in the American victory
  4. Evaluate the significance of the redoubt assaults on October 14 in changing the siege's trajectory

Essential Questions

Keep these questions in mind as you work through this packet:

  • Why was Yorktown a siege rather than a battle? What did siege warfare require that conventional battle did not?
  • How much of the Yorktown victory was American, and how much was French? Does the distinction matter?
Unit:Siege Warfare: How Yorktown Was Won — Primary Source Analysis
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Primary Source 1 of 5
Document Information
DocumentArticles of Capitulation, Yorktown, October 19, 1781
SourceNational Archives and Records Administration
TypePRIMARY
Articles of Capitulation, Yorktown, October 19, 1781

Articles of Capitulation, Yorktown, October 19, 1781

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Yorktown, VA? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:Siege Warfare: How Yorktown Was Won — Primary Source Analysis
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Primary Source 2 of 5
Document Information
DocumentGeorge Washington's Diary, August-October 1781
SourceLibrary of Congress, Manuscript Division
TypePRIMARY
George Washington's Diary, August-October 1781

George Washington's Diary, August-October 1781

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Yorktown, VA? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:Siege Warfare: How Yorktown Was Won — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 3 of 5
Document Information
DocumentMémoires militaires, historiques et politiques de Rochambeau
SourceFain (Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau)
TypePRIMARY

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Yorktown, VA? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:Siege Warfare: How Yorktown Was Won — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 4 of 5
Document Information
DocumentLog of HMS London: Vice-Admiral Graves at the Battle of the Chesapeake, September 1781
SourcePublic Record Office (National Archives, United Kingdom)
TypePRIMARY

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Yorktown, VA? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:Siege Warfare: How Yorktown Was Won — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 5 of 5
Document Information
DocumentColonial National Historical Park: Yorktown Battlefield
SourceNational Park Service
TypeINSTITUTIONAL
Colonial National Historical Park: Yorktown Battlefield

Colonial National Historical Park: Yorktown Battlefield

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What is the institution's mission?

  5. How does that mission shape the presentation?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Yorktown, VA? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:Siege Warfare: How Yorktown Was Won — Yorktown Event Timeline
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Yorktown Event Timeline

timeline

Students place key events in chronological order and add details

# Yorktown Revolutionary Timeline


Instructions: Place the following events in order and add one detail about each.


  • [ ] Cornwallis Surrenders
  • [ ] Siege of Yorktown
  • [ ] British Army Surrenders: The October 19 Ceremony
  • [ ] Battle of the Capes
  • [ ] Storming of Redoubts 9 and 10

---


| Event | Date | Significance |

|-------|------|-------------|

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

Unit:Siege Warfare: How Yorktown Was Won — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Primary Source Analysis

graphic organizer

Structured analysis of Revolutionary-era documents

# Primary Source Analysis Worksheet


## Source Information

  • Title: _________________
  • Author: _________________
  • Date: _________________
  • Type: _________________

## Observation

What do you notice? (List 3 things)

1.

2.

3.


## Reflection

What do you wonder? (List 2 questions)

1.

2.


## Analysis

What does this source tell us about Yorktown during the Revolution?


_______________________________________________


## Perspective

Whose voice is represented? Whose might be missing?


_______________________________________________

Unit:Siege Warfare: How Yorktown Was Won — Key Figures Profile
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Key Figures Profile

worksheet

Research template for Revolutionary figures

# Revolutionary Figure Profile


## Basic Information

  • Name: _________________
  • Birth/Death Years: _________________
  • Occupation(s): _________________

## Role in the Revolution

### George Washington

Commander of the Continental Army who orchestrated the march from New York to Virginia and directed the siege of Yorktown. Washington's decision to shift the entire campaign south — abandoning his long-planned attack on New York — was the strategic gamble that won the war.


My questions about this person:

1.

2.


### Charles Cornwallis

British general whose Southern campaign brought him to Yorktown, where his decision to fortify the town rather than retreat left him vulnerable to the combined French and American siege. His surrender on October 19, 1781, effectively ended the war. Cornwallis himself did not attend the surrender ceremony, claiming illness.


My questions about this person:

1.

2.



## Reflection

Which figure interests you most and why?


_______________________________________________

Unit:Siege Warfare: How Yorktown Was Won — Assessment
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Yorktown in the American Revolution

Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history.

  1. 1.  What makes Yorktown significant in Revolutionary history?

  2. 2.  Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.

  3. 3.  Name one event that occurred in Yorktown during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.

    Answer:

  4. 4.  Why is it important to consider multiple perspectives when studying history?

  5. 5.  Describe one connection between this town and another Revolutionary-era town we discussed.

    Answer: