Cornwallis Attempts to Escape Yorktown

As hope of being rescued by a British fleet faded, Cornwallis attempted to make his own escape from Yorktown. On the early morning of 16 October, a force of British soldiers commanded by Lt. Col. Robert Abercromby launched a desperate attack into the second parallel. The assault was a feint, designed to draw allied attention away from the city as Cornwallis prepared to move his army by ship and ferry across the York River to Gloucester Point. From there he planned to break through the Franco-American troops screening Gloucester Point and march north to New York City. However, a heavy rainstorm and rough waters forced Cornwallis to abandon his plan. As the allied bombardment of Yorktown resumed on 17 October, a British drummer appeared on a parapet along with an officer holding a white flag, signaling a request to negotiate a surrender.