Credit Jeff Hyde with a better grasp of Revolutionary War history than Michele Bachmann. The part where the Democratic Party is a "foe" on par with the Redcoats may strike you as hyperbolic, but, hey, it's play-to-the-base time.
Tonight's GC GOP convention has been moved to larger quarters: Vandalia Christian School, 3919 Pleasant Garden Rd.
The 3/29 event with Pat McCrory is still on Hyde's front page. Does McCrory plan on attending?
Hyde's history isn't much better than Bachmann's. Cornwallis didn't "limp off to the tidewater of Virginia" but instead went to Hillsborough and then on to Wilmington. His army entered Virginia around May and spent about a month chasing Lafayette's forces before turning to Williamsburg. Cornwallis' "impotent" forces fended off Lafayette's in the Battle of Green Spring before moving on to Yorktown.
Posted by: Dave Ribar | Mar 14, 2011 at 02:12 PM
The "grasp" link won't load. Can you do a cut and paste?
Posted by: Roch101 | Mar 14, 2011 at 04:25 PM
Never mind. Finally loaded -- just took a while.
Posted by: Roch101 | Mar 14, 2011 at 04:28 PM
The "victory" here left the British with heavy losses, low on all essential equipment and supplies needed. Cornwallis had previously assured this condition by destroying his baggage train. In addition, Cornwallis failed to make secure his rear, and the losses suffered at Guilford stopped him from manning outposts in north Carolina. He fled to Wilmington in hopes of finding provisions from Charleston. His plan of separating the southern colonies from the North was gone forever.
He might as well have limped off to the Tidewater and ended the hostilities sooner.
Posted by: bubba | Mar 14, 2011 at 05:40 PM
Cornwallis lost at Yorktown because the French navy blocked the arrival of reinforcements and supplies. He found himself in that positions because of bad luck, gad decisons, and bad timing: the French fleet arrived off the Chesapeake at a propitious time, and Washington, having acquired accurate intelligence, was able to scurry his troops from New York down to the Virginia tidewater in time to be effective. And the French fleet finally showed up.
The British elite -- pretty much synonymous with the British electorate at the time -- had grown tired of the lengthy war. Cornwall's defeat at Yorktown prompted a cabintet reshuffle, one that was ready to negotiate with the Americans.
We ned to recognize and understand the efforts of Washington and the Continental Army. We can't do that without also undertstanding the role the American revolt played in the ongoing global conflict between France and England.
Posted by: justcorbly | Mar 14, 2011 at 09:14 PM