Cornwallis at Yorktown, 1781

           235 years ago, our country won its independence from an enormous and powerful empire. The road to such a victory was long and hard-fought: farmers, potters, bartenders went to war with one of the most impressive armies to ever be assembled- and triumphed. Even for career military, their tactics and structure were innovative and competitive. Ultimately, the combination of both regular and irregular tactics was too much for the conventional British armed forces to handle. The use of Geurilla and maneuver warfare by various Revolutionary leaders brought about the defeat of a great leader and a genius career officer, Charles Cornwallis. His defeat at Yorktown in 1781 marked the end of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the United States. But who was Cornwallis? And how was he defeated?