[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-570048-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-570048-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","a-yorktown-surrender-flag-symbolic-object-introduction","A YORKTOWN SURRENDER FLAG -SYMBOLIC OBJECT - Introduction","","A Yorktown surrender flag is examined as a symbolic object connected to the 1781 British capitulation at Yorktown. The narrative explains how Cornwallis and his troops were trapped by American and French forces, then focuses on the flags surrendered, comparing British regimental standards with German standards. It further introduces the Ansbach-Bayreuth contingents, detailing why German states supplied troops and how specific treaties enabled their presence. The text clarifies origins, quantities, and the historical context of the surrendered standards.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/","Literature",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-yorktown-surrender-flag-symbolic-object-introduction/570048/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-yorktown-surrender-flag-symbolic-object-introduction/570048.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Maya Linwood","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-20","2026-10-13",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":30},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What led to Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown in 1781?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"British forces under General Cornwallis were bottled up on the Yorktown peninsula as American and French decisions isolated them. A French fleet under Admiral de Grasse cut off sea escape and supply routes, and the siege reduced the British position to one with no viable option but surrender.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"How do the numbers of surrendered flags compare between British and German forces?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Cornwallis’s forces surrendered six British regimental standards and eighteen German standards. The text notes that for every five British soldiers there were two Germans, but for every single British flag, three German flags were surrendered.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"Why were Ansbach-Bayreuth soldiers present among the troops surrendering at Yorktown?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"German princes used opportunities to hire troops out of financial need, including British arrangements for outside help. For Ansbach-Bayreuth specifically, a British representative approached the authorities in 1777 and subsequent agreements provided infantry and other units, placing the contingent among the German forces at Yorktown.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},570048,1792380484,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,90,94,99,104,109,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & 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YORKTOWN SURRENDER FLAG -SYMBOLIC OBJECT  \nbyJames W.Lowry  \n1989  \nNational Park ServiceHarpers Ferry CenterDivision of ConservationHarpers Ferry,West Virginia  \n# INTRODUCTION\n\nOn October 19,1781,the British forces under General Cornwallis surrendered to theAmericans and the French at the close of the last major engagement of the Revolutionary War.Although no one knew at the time,the war was over.  \nGeneral Washington had desperately needed a decisive victory,of which he had had so few.Because of quarreling in the British high command and some poor decisions on their part andbecause of some astute decisions on the part of the Americans,Cormwallis and a major segment ofthe British forces in North America had been bottled up in the Yorktown peninsula.The Britishposition at Yorktown was indefensible.  \nGeneral Washington with his ragged American troops and General Rochambeau with hiswell equipped French troops had isolated the British at the end of the Yorktown peninsula.A fleetof French warships under Admiral de Grasse came up behind the Yorktown peninsula,and the trapwas closed.The British could not escape by sea,nor could they receive supplies or reinforcementsfrom that direction.  \nWashington dug in before the British earthworks at Yorktown and began to destroy the townand its defenses.Step by step he proceeded with the siege,moving closer and closer,silencing allthe big guns of the British.With the town in ruins and swept by continuous gunfire,Cornwalliswas left no choice.He had to surrender.  \nThis was the decisive victory Washington needed to give the Americans a strong positionwhen negotiating a peace treaty.The surrender of Cornwallis made it possible for the thirteencolonies to become independent of Great Britain and to form a new nation.  \n# FLAGS SURRENDERED\n\nOf the British forces surrendering at Yorktown,roughly 5,000 were actually British and  \n2,000 were German.²These proportions are interesting to compare with the number of flagssurrendered at Yorktown.Cornwallis's forces surrendered six British regimental standards andeighteen German standards.So for every five British soldiers,there were two Germans;but forevery single British flag,three German flags were surrendered.Defeat at the hands of the ragtagAmericans went hard for the British.Accordingly,the British were reluctant to give up their flags.It is known that at least some British flags were smuggled out of the battle area without beingsurrendered.³  \nOf the eighteen German flags surrendered,only four are known to exist at present-all fromAnsbach-Bayreuth.   Soldiers carrying those flags could be called Ansbachers orAnsbach-Bayreuthers.Ansbach and Bayreuth were two small German states,not contiguous,butstill under the control of one prince,Christian Friedrich Carl Alexander.  \n# ANSBACH-BAYREUTHERS AT YORKTOWN\n\nHow did this contingent of soldiers from Ansbach-Bayreuth,the domain of Christian FriedrichCarl Alexander,happen to be present among the German troops surrendering with the British atYorktown?  \nWhen hostilities began between Great Britain and the American colonies,the princes of anumber of small German states saw their opportunity to make money.The rulers of Hesse hadbeen renting out their troops to foreign sovereigns since 1676.They and rulers of other pettyGerman states liked to imitate the luxury and extravagance of the French court.This requiredmore money than the small German states could produce in taxes.So in 1775 Great Britain  \nFigure 1.Christian Friedrich Carl Alexander(1736-1806)of Ansbach-Bayreuth.On his coat just below the wide ribbon,he is wearing the Order of the Red Eagle.See page 51.He became the Margrave of Ansbach in 1757 and of Bayreuthin 1769,but he abdicated in 1791.After that,he moved to England,where he lived until his death.This painting wasmade around 1770.Reproduced in Städtler,Die Ansbach-Bayreuther Truppe","cbCairXSKxOpQy9B","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairXSKxOpQy9B","pdf",4142615,72,"English","# INTRODUCTION\n# FLAGS SURRENDERED\n# ANSBACH-BAYREUTHERS AT YORKTOWN","[{\"question\":\"What led to Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown in 1781?\",\"answer\":\"British forces under General Cornwallis were bottled up on the Yorktown peninsula as American and French decisions isolated them. A French fleet under Admiral de Grasse cut off sea escape and supply routes, and the siege reduced the British position to one with no viable option but surrender.\"},{\"question\":\"How do the numbers of surrendered flags compare between British and German forces?\",\"answer\":\"Cornwallis’s forces surrendered six British regimental standards and eighteen German standards. The text notes that for every five British soldiers there were two Germans, but for every single British flag, three German flags were surrendered.\"},{\"question\":\"Why were Ansbach-Bayreuth soldiers present among the troops surrendering at Yorktown?\",\"answer\":\"German princes used opportunities to hire troops out of financial need, including British arrangements for outside help. For Ansbach-Bayreuth specifically, a British representative approached the authorities in 1777 and subsequent agreements provided infantry and other units, placing the contingent among the German forces at Yorktown.\"}]","A YORKTOWN SURRENDER FLAG -SYMBOLIC OBJECT - Introduction | PDF",1791878962,111]