099-0058

Yorktown Wrecks

VLR Listing Date

02/20/1973

NRHP Listing Date

10/09/1973

NRHP Reference Number

73002069

In October 1781, when the British army of Lord Cornwallis was bottled up at Yorktown by the Allied Army, and the French fleet was blockading the Chesapeake Bay, as many as twenty-six British vessels were scuttled off Yorktown. This prevented a landing by the French fleet. Cornwallis attempted to evacuate his troops across the York River, but a violent squall prevented their escape. A British flag of truce was flown the next day; and on October 19, 1781, the surrender was signed, effectively ending the Revolutionary War. Investigations of the Yorktown Shipwrecks Maritime Archaeological Site by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources located nine ships dating to the wartime period. In 1982 a cofferdam was erected around one of the best preserved of the Yorktown Wrecks, a British supply ship, the Betsy. The systematic excavation of the Yorktown Wrecks site by DHR archaeologists was a precedent-setting demonstration of underwater archaeological techniques.

Last Updated: June 2, 2023

Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.

Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark

For additional information Read

Nomination Form

099-5091

Oak Grove Baptist Church Historic District

York (County)

036-5179

Troop 111 Boy Scout Cabin

Gloucester (County)

099-5241

Colonial National Historical Park

James City (County)