The siege of Yorktown, and the subsequent surrender of British forces to the revolutionists, seems almost accidental in light of all the events that had to happen at this precise battle to ensure Cornwallis' defeat. To be fair, some of what happened was due to sheer folly. For example, he slaughtered his own horses to avoid feeding them on the assumption that British ships would be available to take him back home (and I think we all know the saying about assumptions). He also sank his own ships in an attempt to block the revolutionists from advancing upriver. This maneuver confused me the most as you would think someone attempting to sail back to England would want to hold on to his ships.
