Most folks, no matter where in the country they got their schooling, should be able to name Yorktown as the place where American’s independence was won. At least, I can hope they’re able to do so.

According to VisitYorktown.org, “In September 1781, prior to Yorktown, French naval forces under the command of the Comte de Grasse seized control of the Chesapeake from the British during the Battle of the Capes. A week later, a combined force of almost 17,000 American and French soldiers began the 11-mile march from Williamsburg to Yorktown. There they initiated a surprise siege, pinning Gen. Cornwallis and his troops. One by one, they captured the redoubts, forcing a surrender on Oct. 19. This last major battle of the Revolution secured American independence.”

On Oct. 18-19, there will be a lot of special activities to commemorate the 238th anniversary of this battle. There will be ceremonies, wreath-layings, a parade, Fife and Drum performances, living history presentations, a special visit by surviving crew of the USS Yorktown and more.

You can learn more about these events in our calendar of events and other places in this edition, so I won’t repeat the entire schedule here. But I just wanted to take a few moments to encourage everyone to attend at least a few of the ceremonies.

Whether you were raised in Yorktown and consider yourself a history buff, or you are from elsewhere and are only vaguely familiar with what you learned about the Revolution in your history class, there’s a good chance you will learn something new at these events, not to mention get a chance to enjoy the beautiful autumn weather and have a great time.

The Yorktown area is growing all of the time, so I know there are a lot of newcomers. So if one of those newcomers is you, or you just want to learn more about the history of your town and your country, I think you’ll greatly appreciate the Yorktown Day activities. I plan to visit a few myself.