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Then came the artillery. General Washington and his generals were also there, on horseback. The American army was commanded by the Marquis de Lafayette. The English army left its fortifications around 2 o’clock, to fanfare and unfurled flags. The drums were beating a marching rhythm, rifles in hand. Then we had the honor of seeing man after man, as they had to march, in a very orderly fashion, between the Americans and us, grouped in sections, the officers’ swords drawn.

Alsdan stunde die Artillerie. Der General Wassington hielte ebenfalls mit seiner Generalitet zu Pferd. Die americanische Armee stunde unter dem Befehl des Herren Marquis von Lafayett. Die englische Armee kame gegen 2 Uhr aus ihren Wercker heraus marschiert mit klingentem Spiel und flügenten Fahnen. Die Tambours schlugen Marsch, das Gewehr im Arm. Alsdan hatten wir die Ehre sie Mann vor Mann zu betrachten, dann sie mußten zwischen uns und den Americaner durch deffilieren sectionsweiß eingetheillet in gröster Ordnung, die Officirs mit bloßen Degen.

The troops marched in front of General Cornwallis and General O’Hara[201]. Their uniforms were red and blue. They now moved closer to our left wing, each regiment according to its rank, divided in brigades. Amongst them there were: two regiments of Hessians, 1 regiment from Anspach, 1 regiment from Bayreuth etc. For the English: the 3rd battalion of the Royal Guard, on foot, the 25th, 17th, 33rd, 43rd, 71st, 76th, and 80th regiments. As the English regiments bear no name other than their number, which they have on their buttons, they will not be otherwise specified here, other than by their number. The Gloucester garrison was composed as follows: the Queen’s Rangers or Regiment of the Queen,

Vor General Kornwallis und General Ohara führeten die Truppen. Ihre Uniform ware roth und blau. Jetzo kamen sie gegen unsrem lincken Flügel an-marschiert jedes Regiment nach seinem Rang einge-theillet in Brigaden. Worunder waren : zwey Regimen t. Hessen, 1 Regimen t. Anspacher, 1 Regimen t. Bayrayter etc. Von den Englischen ware: das 3te Batalion der könig-lichen Garde zu Fuß, das 25te, das 17te, das 33te, das 43te, das 71te, das 76te, das 80te Regiment. Weilen die englische Regimenter keine andre Namen tragen als von ihre N°, welche sie auf den Knöpfe haben, werden sie allhier auch nicht anderst specifizirt als nach ihren N°. Die Besatzung von Gloßester bestund aus folgenden: die Queens-Rängers oder der Königin Regiment,

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https://gallica.bnf.fr/iiif/ark:/12148/btv1b10110846m/f62/pct:0,0,50,100/,700/0/native.jpg

Strasbourg, Médiathèque André Malraux, ms f 15, p. 122.

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 Notes

201. General Cornwallis was not present during the surrender ceremony, he feigned illness and sent his second-in-command, Charles O’Hara. He was born in 1740, he entered the army very early, he was a lieutenant when the Seven Years’ War broke out. He served in Germany and Portugal. In 1766, he was head of the English troops in Senegal, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He arrived in 1778 on the North American theater of operations, he was promoted to brigadier in October 1780. He was Cornwallis’s lieutenant during the Siege of Yorktown, he had the difficult task of representing General Cornwallis during the surrender ceremony. Cf. Anonymous, Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, color lithograph, 1845 [reproduction en ligne - RMN]