Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/819

YORKTOWN YORUBA 791 YORRTOW1V, a post village, port of entry, and the capital of York co., Virginia, on the right baj^k of the York river, 10 m. from its mouth arcl 60 m. E. S. E. of Kichmond ; pop. about 1,000. It has a white and a colored school, an Episcopal church, and two Baptist churches (colored). It is chiefly noted for its two mem- orable sieges, in 1781 and 1862. On Aug. 1, 1781, Lord Cornwallis, in obedience to orders from Sir Henry Clinton to occupy a strong defensible position in Virginia, established himself at Yorktown with his whole army of about 8,000 men, supported by several frig- ates and smaller vessels which were anchored in York river. He fortified the place by re- doubts and batteries on the land side, con- nected by a line of intrenchments extending completely around the village, and by a line of batteries along the river. The place was fur- ther defended by a series of outworks, with redoubts strengthened by abatis, and field works mounted with cannon. Gloucester point, on the other side of the river, was also strongly fortified. In the latter part of September the combined American and French forces effect- ed a junction with Lafayette at Williamsburg, whence, under the command of Washington, they marched on the 28th to the investment of Yorktown. The whole besieging force amounted to about 16,000 men, of whom 7,000 were French and the remainder continentals and militia. The British abandoned their out- works at the approach of the allies, and on the 30th the investment of the town was completed. On Oct. 9 the first parallel was established, and several heavy batteries opened with great effect upon the enemy, dismounting a number of their guns, and destroying on the night of the 10th a frigate and three large transports. On the llth the second parallel was opened; but as the working parties were greatly annoyed by an enfilading fire from two redoubts, a bold and successful attack was made upon them on the night of the 14th by two detachments, one American and one French, and the captured works were included in the parallel. The French loss in killed and wounded was nearly 100; that of the Americans was much less. The position of Cornwallis now became exceedingly critical, cut off from receiving reinforcements, or from escaping by sea, by the presence of the French fleet of 37 ships under De Grasse in Chesapeake bay. He made a sortie on the 16th, which proved a complete failure. On the 17th he proposed to capitulate, and the terms .having been arranged, he surrendered on the 19th his whole force, consisting of 7,247 regular troops, 840 sailors, and 106 guns. The total British loss during the siege amounted to more than 350. This virtual- ly decided the struggle for independence in favor of the Americans. The second siege of Yorktown was begun by the United States troops under Gen. McClellan on April 5, 1862, and continued till May 4. (See CHIOKAHOM- INY, vol. iv., p. 410.) TORE VON WARTENBDRG, Hans David Lndwig, count, a Prussian soldier, born in Potsdam, Sept. 26, 1759, died at Klein-Gels, Silesia, Oct. 4, 1830. He belonged to an old English fami- ly settled in Pornerania. After eight years' military service, he was cashiered for insubor- dination, and held in prison in 1780-'81. He then enlisted in the Dutch army, and served in India in 1783-'4. In 1786 he was reinstated in the Prussian army, and in 1807 became major general, after being wounded and cap- tured at Liibeck and detained for a year by the French. In the campaign of 1812 in Rus- sia he finally became chief commander of the Prussian auxiliary troops in Napoleon's army of invasion. On Dec. 30 he concluded an agree- ment with Diebitsch and Clausewitz to remain neutral ; the king of Prussia, still fearing Na- poleon, officially disavowed this convention, but employed York in organizing the landwehr and the other forces. On the outbreak of the Prussian war against Napoleon he was placed at the head of the first corps, and on April 5, 1813, defeated Eugene de Beauharnais at Dan- nigkow; on May 19 he achieved another suc- cess at Weissig, and on the 21st at Bautzen he covered the retreat. Pending the truce, his corps was assigned to Bliicher's command in Silesia. He took a decisive part in the battle on the Katzbach, Aug. 26, and defeated Ber- trand at Wartenburg, Oct. 3, whence he re- ceived his title of count. During the battle of Leipsic, Oct. 16, he defeated Marmont at Mockern. On Feb. 11, 1814, at Montinirail, he saved the corps of Gen. Sacken, which had rashly engaged Napoleon, and on March 9 dis- tinguished himself at Laon. After Napoleon's return from Elba he was assigned to the re- serve corps, and he repeatedly offered his resig- nation, which was not accepted till the resto- ration of peace. He was made field marshal in 1821. A statue of York by Rauch has been erected in Berlin. See Droysen's Leben des Feldmarschalls Orafen York von Wartenburg (3 vols., 3d ed., Berlin, 1851). 10RPBA, or Yarriba, a country of Africa, lying N. of the bight of Benin and W. of the Niger, between lat. 7 and 9 30' N. and Ion. 2 and 5 30' E. ; area, about 20,000 sq. m. ; pop. es- timated at upward of 2,000,000. In the early part of the present century it formed one king- dom, extending from the river Mussa on the north to near the .bight of Benin on the south, and from the Niger on the east to Dahomey on the west. The capital was Katunga. By the invasions of the Foolahs the capital was de- stroyed and the kingdom greatly reduced in ex- tent. A new capital considerably to the south of Katunga was founded, called Oyo, where the present king of Yoruba resides. Many of the states over which he claims dominion are practically independent. No portion of Africa contains so many populous cities as Yoruba. The principal are Ilorin, Ibadan, Ogboomosho, and Ijaye, with populations varying from 40,- 000 to 70,000. They are generally surrounded