Visit to Yorktown, VA

We had been exploring the Colonial Williamsburg area and since our drive back to the our cabin was taking us through Yorktown — a place we hadn’t really checked out before — we figured it was a good chance to grab some lunch and take a look around the battlefield. Seemed like a solid way to break up the trip and see a bit of history while we were at it.

Yorktown Battlefield is an integral component of the Colonial National Historical Park. This historic site marks the pivotal moment when the American Revolution reached its climax. It was here, in 1781, that General George Washington, with the support of French forces, cornered and defeated British General Cornwallis, effectively ending the war and securing American independence.

The area is most famous as the site of the Revolutionary War siege and subsequent surrender of General Charles Cornwallis to General George Washington and the French Fleet on October 19, 1781. Although the war would last for another year, this British defeat at Yorktown effectively ended the war. Yorktown also figured prominently in the American Civil War (1861–1865), serving as a major port to supply both northern and southern towns, depending upon who held Yorktown at the time.

You can easily see how in our provided Yorktown Map (see above map link), that the Battlefield Center is located immediately adjacent to the Village of Yorktown, and we initially just walked over to see the Battlefield Monument. However, we then realized that lunch sounded like a good idea, so we took our car into the village, parked next to the river and found a nice restaurant. We selected Carrot Tree Kitchens and enjoyed our lunch.