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Top Attractions in Yorktown

Kiskiack

Kiskiack is the name of an early 17th-century brick building, originally built as a private residence, which still stands at the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown in York County, Virginia. This brick structure, the oldest building owned by the U.S. Navy, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was named for the historic Kiskiack, an Algonquian-speaking tribe of the Powhatan Confederacy, who occupied this area at the time of English colonization. It is one-and-a-half stories, built with a gable roof at a relatively steep pitch of 55 degrees. All four walls were laid in Flemish bond, with English bond below the glazed water table. It has a central passage plan and the entrance facade on the west is symmetrical, with a central doorway. Due to a fire in 1915, much of the interior was destroyed but the house is structurally preserved. The house was built on property acquired in 1641 English immigrant colonist Dr. Henry Harry Lee, who added to his property in 1650 and 1653. He served as a justice of the court of York County in 1646 and was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1656. There is no genealogical evidence connecting him to ancestors of the family of Robert E. Lee. He married Marah Adkins Fulgate. Marahs father was the minister who officiated at the 17th-century marriage of Pocahontas, the Powhatans daughter, and English colonist John Rolfe. It is not known if Lee or one of his descendants built the house; it is in the style of the late 17th century and could have been built by his son or grandson. It is described as "a rare survival of a typical early Virginia country house. The quality of both its design and construction is a testament to the high standards of craftsmanship attained by Virginians during the first century of settlement." The T-shaped chimney stacks were assessed as the most significant architectural feature of the house. A small Lee family cemetery is nearby. The Lee family owned the property until 1918, when it and adjoining lands were acquired by the federal government for the Naval Mine Depot. This installation what ultimately developed as Naval Weapons Station Yorktown and is off-limits to the general public. Years later, Barbara Blunt Brooks of Richmond, Virginia donated one of Dr. Lees hand-crafted tables to the Naval Weapons Museum. This table is one of two identical tables known to have been made by Lee; the location of the other is unknown. The house was photographed and measured for the HABS, and numerous photos are available.. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.

Siege of Yorktown

The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the Surrender at Yorktown or the German Battle, ending on October 19, 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia, was a decisive victory by a combined force of American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington and French Army troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by British lord and Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. The culmination of the Yorktown campaign, the siege proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War in the North American theater, as the surrender by Cornwallis, and the capture of both him and his army, prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the conflict. The battle boosted faltering American morale and revived French enthusiasm for the war, as well as undermining popular support for the conflict in Great Britain. In 1780, 5,500 French soldiers landed in Rhode Island to assist their American allies in operations against British-controlled New York City. Following the arrival of dispatches from France that included the possibility of support from the French West Indies fleet of the Comte de Grasse, Washington and Rochambeau decided to ask de Grasse for assistance either in besieging New York, or in military operations against a British army operating in Virginia. On the advice of Rochambeau, de Grasse informed them of his intent to sail to the Chesapeake Bay, where Cornwallis had taken command of the army. Cornwallis, at first given confusing orders by his superior officer, Henry Clinton, was eventually ordered to build a defensible deep-water port, which he began to do at Yorktown, Virginia. Cornwallis' movements in Virginia were shadowed by a Continental Army force led by the Marquis de Lafayette. The French and American armies united north of New York City during the summer of 1781. When word of de Grasse's decision arrived, the combined armies began moving south toward Virginia, engaging in tactics of deception to lead the British to believe a siege of New York was planned. De Grasse sailed from the West Indies and arrived at the Chesapeake Bay at the end of August, bringing additional troops and providing a naval blockade of Yorktown. He was transporting 500,000 silver pesos collected from the citizens of Havana, Cuba, to fund supplies for the siege and payroll for the Continental Army. While in Santo Domingo, de Grasse met with Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis, an agent of Carlos III of Spain. De Grasse had planned to leave several of his warships in Santo Domingo. Saavedra promised the assistance of the Spanish navy to protect the French merchant fleet, enabling de Grasse to sail north with all of his warships. In the beginning of September, he defeated a British fleet led by Sir Thomas Graves that came to relieve Cornwallis at the Battle of the Chesapeake. As a result of this victory, de Grasse blocked any escape by sea for Cornwallis. By late September Washington and Rochambeau arrived, and the army and naval forces completely surrounded Cornwallis. After initial preparations, the Americans and French built their first parallel and began the bombardment. With the British defense weakened, Washington on October 14, 1781 sent two columns to attack the last major remaining British outer defenses. A French column took redoubt #9 and an American column took redoubt #10. With these defenses taken, the allies were able to finish their second parallel. With the American artillery closer and more intense than ever, the British situation began to deteriorate rapidly and Cornwallis asked for capitulation terms on the 17th. After two days of negotiation, the surrender ceremony took place on the 19th; Lord Cornwallis, claiming to be ill, was absent from the ceremony. With the capture of over 7,000 British soldiers, negotiations between the United States and Great Britain began, resulting in the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge

The George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge is a double swing bridge that spans the York River between Yorktown and Gloucester Point, in the U.S. state of Virginia. It connects the Peninsula and Middle Peninsula regions of Tidewater, Virginia. The bridge is the only public crossing of the York River, though State Route 33 crosses both of its tributaries at just above its source at West Point. Originally built in 1952, it was reconstructed and widened in 1995 through an unusual process which greatly reduced the time the important commuter artery was out-of-service from conventional methods. The current 3,750-foot long double-swing-span bridge carries U.S. Route 17, a four-lane arterial highway. The movable span is needed to allow ship access to several military installations that are upstream of the bridge, most notably, the U.S. Navys Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. The roadways are almost 90 feet above the river at the highest point of the bridge. The bridge is the largest double-swing-span bridge in the United States, and second largest in the world. The toll bridge was named for George P. Coleman, who from 1913 to 1922 was the head of the Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation, predecessor to the Virginia Department of Transportation . The bridge has been one of the sites of a special program to establish and encourage nesting locations for the peregrine falcon population of Virginia. The George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge is a toll facility. Tolls are only collected northbound, and are used to pay for the expansion of the bridge to four lanes. Toll Collection Rates are as follows: Commuters 85¢ Motorcycles 85¢ Two-axle vehicles $2 Three-axle vehicles $3 Four- or more-axle vehicles $4 Bicycles are permitted to cross and are not required to pay a toll. Bicycles must use the established bicycle lane located to the right of the far right travel lane.

Colonial Parkway

Colonial Parkway is a 23-mile scenic parkway linking the three points of Virginias Historic Triangle, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. It is part of the National Park Services Colonial National Historical Park. With portions built between 1930 and 1957, the Colonial Parkway links the three communities via a roadway carefully shielded from views of commercial development; a major effort has also been made to keep traffic signs and other modern roadside items to a minimum, and make them unobtrusive where unavoidable. There are often views of wildlife and waterfowl in addition to the river panoramas near each end. The roadway, a National Scenic Byway and All-American Road, is free of semitrucks and is a popular way to move by motor vehicle between the three points, especially for tourists. Near the James River and York River ends of the parkway, there are several pull-offs. It is toll-free, and has speed limits of around 45 to 55 mph.

Cape Henry Memorial

The Cape Henry Memorial commemorates the first landfall at Cape Henry, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, of colonists bound for the Jamestown settlement. After landing on April 26, 1607, they explored the area, named the cape, and set up a cross before proceeding up the James River. A stone cross, set up in 1935 by the Daughters of the American Colonists, stands in the quarter-acre site. The memorial marks the First Landing, the very beginning of what would become British North America and subsequently Anglo Canada and the United States of America. The Memorial also overlooks the scene of the Battle of the Virginia Capes, in which the French navy prevented the British from reinforcing General Cornwallis, and led to the Franco-American victory at Yorktown. A statue of Admiral Comte de Grasse and a granite memorial honor those who fought in the battle. The Cape Henry Memorial is within Joint Expeditionary Base East, but is an isolated unit of Colonial National Historical Park. A national park passport stamp for the Memorial can be obtained at the adjacent Old Cape Henry Light .
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