Allied Encampment Auto Tour (Colonial National Historical Park, VA)

Yorktown Battlefield, Colonial National Historical Park, January 2017

– Revolutionary War Series –

As the Battle of Yorktown raged to the east, George Washington and his French ally Comte de Rochambeau set up their encampments in the woody perimeter around Yorktown in 1781. After hitting the key sites on the Yorktown Battlefield Auto Tour, visitors to Virginia’s Colonial National Historical Park today can also check out the longer and more remote Allied Encampment Auto Tour, which tells the behind-the-scenes story of the supply lines and rear bases that facilitated a French and American victory. It is, for the most part, a pleasant drive through the forest and, though signs are a plenty (e.g., denoting where certain contingents slept), there is far less interpretation than the Battlefield Tour. Allot around 45 minutes to an hour for this drive, which begins at the Surrender Field and ends at Yorktown National Cemetery. (Note: A small ford is required to reach George Washington’s Headquarters; it may be impassable after rains.)

(Note: See my separate post covering the Yorktown Battlefield Auto Tour.)