Battle of the Chesapeake 1781
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 5 September 1781 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1781 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Nearest landmass | At sea (nearest continent: North America) | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | France, Kingdom of Great Britain | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 36.9675, -75.5392 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a fleet action which took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1781 during the American Revolutionary War. It was fought between a British fleet led by Rear-Admiral of the Red Sir Thomas Graves and a French fleet under Lieutenant général des armées navales François Joseph Paul de Grasse. The strategically decisive battle prevented the Royal Navy from reinforcing or evacuating the besieged British army of Lieutenant-general Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. With its victory, the French navy was able to gain control over local sea lanes and provided the Franco-American besiegers with siege artillery and troops reinforcements. These proved decisive in securing Cornwallis' surrender, which led to British acknowledgement of American independence.
De Grasse had the option to attack British forces in either New York or Virginia; he opted for Virginia, arriving at the Chesapeake at the end of August. Graves learned that de Grasse had sailed from the West Indies for North America and that French Admiral de Barras had also sailed from Newport, Rhode Island. He concluded that they were going to join forces at the Chesapeake.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of the Chesapeake (revision 1381211005), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Action of 22 January 1783 1783 · 57 km
- Battle of Kemp's Landing 1775 · 57 km
- Battle of Great Bridge 1775 · 68 km
- Battle of Hampton Roads 1862 · 69 km
- Battle of Sewell's Point 1861 · 70 km
Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
- Battle of Tearcoat Swamp 1780
- Battle of Wahab's Plantation 1780
- Battle of Waxhaws 1780
- Battle of Young's House 1780
- Siege of Charleston 1780
- Action of 21 July 1781 1781
- Battle of Blandford 1781
- Battle of Cape Henry 1781
- Battle of Cowan's Ford 1781
- Battle of Cowpens 1781
All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
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