Attacking with “Decisive Vigor” The Battle of the Hook - Gloucester Point VA
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 37° 15.022 W 076° 30.110
18S E 366808 N 4123703
One of the largest cavalry battles of the Revolution was fought a few miles north of Gloucester Point. The Battle of the Hook set the stage for the American victory at Yorktown.
Waymark Code: WM13BDZ
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 11/01/2020
Views: 0
Attacking with “Decisive Vigor”-The Battle of the Hook-- “…the Cavalry…has attaqued them, pierced through and…have had a great advantage of them.” Duc de Choisy to George Washington, October 3, 1781
One of the largest cavalry battles of the Revolution was fought a few miles north of Gloucester Point. The Battle of the Hook set the stage for the American victory at Yorktown.
The bottled-up British needed food. General Cornwallis instructed Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Dundas to lead a foraging party out of the Gloucester defenses. Returning with sheep, cattle, and corn in their wagons, the party was jumped near Seawell’s Ordinary by a large American-French force. The Virginia militia had been joined by veteran French cavalry and marines led by two officers, the Duc de Choisy and the Duc de Lauzun. In the ensuing struggle, Colonel Banastre Tarleton, leading his legion of troops, was unhorsed but was saved by his men as the heavily laden wagons ducked into the British lines. Casualties on both sides were few but the results of the October 3, 1781, battle were critical.
General George Washington was thrilled. He congratulated the French officers for their “Judicious disposition and decisive Vigour.” The British forces were trapped at Gloucester Point and could no longer forage or escape north without a fight.
Group that erected the marker: National Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network.
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
1376 Vernon Street
on the Tyndall’s Point Park Walkway
Gloucester Point, VA USA
23062
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