Siege of York, 1781: Plan of Franco-American Siege Works

What it is

This is a hand-drawn pen-and-ink and watercolor map made in 1781 by Querenet De La Combe. It shows the siege works at York, Virginia, including attack trenches, batteries and the camps of the combined French and American army, with a small inset map and a handwritten key.

It is held as part of a Library of Congress map collection.

Why it matters

The map documents the final siege of the Revolutionary War, where British forces under Cornwallis were trapped and surrendered. James Armistead, enslaved at the time, worked as a double agent gathering intelligence that helped the allied forces plan these very movements. Maps like this show how military engineers planned the attack his information helped make possible.

Look closer

• What details does the map include to help commanders plan an attack?
• Why might a French officer have drawn this map rather than an American one?
• What does the map leave out about the people, like spies, who made victory possible?