The End of our Tether: Northern Maryland and the 1781 March to Yorktown

A French map of the Franco-American march from Rhode Island to Yorktown, Virginia in the Summer of 1781. The yellow line on the map shows the route the army took from Providence, Rhode Island, to Annapolis, Maryland.

Historical map produced by Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Recipient: Maryland Historical Trust

Amount: $68,189.00

After six-years of war, General George Washington wrote to a colleague that his Continental Army was “at the end of [their] tether.” Faced with low morale, dwindling supplies, and two failed mutinies earlier that year, the Continental Army in New England was edging closer to disaster. Washington believed that to raise the morale of his men and truly realize the prospect of American independence, his forces needed to achieve a decisive victory against the British Army in North America.

An opportunity presented itself in June of 1781, when a British troops under General Lord Cornwallis retreated to Yorktown, Virginia. Washington received intelligence that a French fleet would be operating off the Chesapeake Bay, and he wagered that if he could also move a combined force of French and American infantry to Yorktown, he could deliver a significant blow against the largest British army in the south. In April 1781, the bulk of the Franco-American army began its 680-mile trek from Rhode Island to Yorktown, passing through northern Maryland in early September. Along their way, the army was aided by sympathetic civilians.

The residents of Cecil and Harford Counties offered supplies from their mills, taverns, and farms to support the marching army. Black Marylanders, both free and enslaved, also played a pivotal role in transporting these supplies and operating ferry crossings across the Chesapeake and its tributaries- a vital service as Washington’s army lacked the skilled watermen and logistical support to complete these tasks quickly. By receiving this badly needed aid, Washington’s men were able to reach Yorktown with their French allies well supplied, and in time to lay siege in coordination with the French Fleet. Culminating in the British Army’s surrender on October 19, 1781.

A 2023 Preservation Planning Grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program to the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) will fund the identification of sites associated with the march of American and French soldiers through northern Maryland in the lead up to the Battle of Yorktown. MHT will conduct historical research, geophysical surveys, and archeological testing to locate these sites and develop a more complete understanding of how Maryland communities contributed to one of the most significant troop movements of the Revolutionary War.

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Preservation Planning Grants are the American Battlefield Protection Program's broadest and most inclusive grant program, promoting the stewardship of battlefields and sites of armed conflict on American soil. In addition, ABPP administers three other grant opportunities: the Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant, Battlefield Restoration Grant, and Battlefield Interpretation Grant programs. This financial assistance generates community-driven stewardship of historic resources at the state, tribal and local levels.

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