Where was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War fought? If definitely was not at Yorktown! As humiliating as Cornwallis’ defeat at Yorktown was it did not cripple the British war effort in America. Most of the British Army was in New York where Washington and Rochambeau originally planned to engage them. Losing Cornwallis’ army was a blow but not a knock-out. In fact, King George III dismissed the loss as a minor setback and decreed that the war should continue. He wrote to Parliament avowing the he would “do what I can to save the Empire.”
George Washington also had no delusions that the victory in Yorktown would end the war. He assumed the British strike back and felt it was his absolute duty to keep the Continental Army together until the final peace treaty signed. Meanwhile, while fighting stopped in America, our allies (France, Spain, and the Netherlands) continued their war on Britain and British commerce and that commerce was chiefly run by the East India Company.
In June 1783, the British decided to retake the important and ancient seaport city of Cuddalore, on India’s eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal. Siege, counterseige, and finally a decisive naval battle turned the tide for the French and allowed them to bottle up the British in a small peninsula, cut off from the fleet and any hope of resupply, in the sweltering summer heat (sound familiar?). This surrender convinced the King and Parliament that an ongoing global war was not in the best interest of the British Empire. The final Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783.
The final battle of the American Revolutionary War wasn’t fought in a New England meadow, a mid-Atlantic forested wilderness, or in a southern swamp. It was fought in the Bay of Bengal at the fortress of Cuddalore, India. Perhaps it was just a continuation of the French and Indian War after all…
So, in honor of our brave French and Indian allies, lift your glass. This is an India Pale Ale with an Indian twist — Cardamom.
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Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 