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Show Lord Cornwallis' Army Disorderly on Surrender At the surrender of Lord Cornwallis his British soldiers presented a brilliant bril-liant contrast to the Americans. Cornwallis Corn-wallis had ordered that a new uniform uni-form be Issued to each man and that in marching out of the spacious field at Yorktown each company conduct Itself It-self In strictest order, even to the humiliating hu-miliating end when the arms were to be grounded. Doctor Thatcher, a surgeon sur-geon In Washington's army, who gave a complete account of the surrender in his Journal, wrote of that October 19, 17S1: "But in their line of march we remarked re-marked a disorderly and unsoldierly conduct; their step was Irregular and their ranks frequently broken. But it was In the last act of the drama that the spirit and pride of the British Brit-ish soldiers were put to the severest test here their mortification could not be concealed. Some of the platoon pla-toon officers appeared to be exceedingly exceed-ingly chagrined when giving the word, 'Ground arms,' and I am witness wit-ness that they performed that duty In a very unofficer-like manner, and that many of the soldiers manifested a sullen temper, throwing their arms on the pile with violence, as If determined de-termined to render them useless. This Irregularity was checked by order or-der of General Lincoln." (The latter lat-ter had been delegated by Washington Washing-ton as the American In charge of the capitulation.) "The Americans," Doctor Doc-tor Thatcher related, "though not all In uniform, nor their dress so neat, yet exhibited an erect soldiery air and every countenance beamed with satisfaction and Joy." |