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Battle of the Capes -- French Blockade of The Chesapeake Prior to the Battle of Yorktown

Interesting Revolutionary War battle plan, showing the naval action between the British & French Navies at Hampton Roads and around Cape Henry and below Cape Charles.

This map depicts the critical naval engagement at the entrance of the Chesapeake Bay during the American Revolutionary War. Drawn in the context of the larger Franco-American campaign to encircle British forces at Yorktown, it illustrates the strategic positioning and movements of both the British and French fleets just prior to the decisive Battle of the Capes. The French fleet is shown anchored in Lynn Haven Bay, while the British fleet, approaching from the northeast, is arrayed in a line of battle as it sails into the bay. Seven French ships are seen maneuvering out to intercept the advancing British, setting the stage for the confrontation.

The map covers the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, with Cape Henry and Point Comfort marked at the southern approaches, and Cape Charles to the north. The British fleet's route is indicated by a chain of yellow dots moving westward into the bay, aiming to relieve General Cornwallis’s besieged troops at Yorktown. The French, under Admiral de Grasse, had arrived earlier and secured control of the bay, effectively preventing British naval support from reaching Cornwallis. The resulting naval clash, which this map foreshadows, ended in French victory and secured the maritime blockade essential to George Washington’s final campaign. 

Yorktown / Battle of the Capes

The Battle of Yorktown, fought in the autumn of 1781, was the climactic engagement of the American Revolutionary War, marking the effective end of major combat and leading directly to the British decision to negotiate peace. At the heart of this American and French victory was not only the land campaign led by General George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau, but also a decisive naval action—the Battle of the Capes—that this map vividly illustrates. The naval engagement off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on September 5, 1781, ensured that British forces under General Charles Cornwallis, entrenched at Yorktown, would be cut off from escape or reinforcement by sea.

In early 1781, Washington and Rochambeau devised a bold plan to shift their forces from the New York area to Virginia, where Cornwallis had fortified a position at Yorktown on the York River. Their strategy depended critically on the ability to blockade Cornwallis by both land and sea. While Franco-American troops began the arduous march south, Washington coordinated with Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse, commander of the French fleet in the Caribbean, to sail north and seize control of the Chesapeake Bay. De Grasse arrived at the mouth of the bay in late August and began disembarking troops and supplies near Williamsburg, while anchoring the bulk of his fleet in Lynn Haven Bay, as shown on the map.

Alerted to the French presence, the British dispatched a fleet under Rear Admiral Thomas Graves from New York to regain control of the bay and support Cornwallis. The British fleet entered the Chesapeake on September 5, approaching from the northeast. As depicted on the map, seven French ships sortied from the anchorage to meet the British advance, drawing both fleets into open waters off Cape Henry and Cape Charles. The ensuing Battle of the Capes was tactically inconclusive, but strategically decisive: although no ships were lost, the French successfully repelled the British and maintained their blockade. Graves withdrew to New York for repairs, and the British fleet never returned in time to affect the siege.

With the Chesapeake secured, the French controlled all naval access to Yorktown. Washington and Rochambeau's troops completed the encirclement from land, and after a prolonged artillery bombardment, Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. The loss shattered British political will to continue the war and led to peace negotiations in Paris the following year.

Thus, this map is more than a chart of naval positions—it is a visual record of the moment when control of the sea decisively shifted in favor of the American and French alliance. The action it depicts made the Franco-American siege at Yorktown possible and directly precipitated the collapse of British resistance in North America.