Eric Braun - At the Battle of Yorktown: An Interactive Battlefield Adventure

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You are living in the year 1781. The American war for independence from British rule rages all around you. People around the world wait to see which side will emerge victorious.

In this book youll explore how the choices people made meant the difference between life and death. The events youll experience happened to real people.

Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to read. Follow the links at the bottom of each page as you read the stories. The decisions you make will change your outcome. After you finish one path, go back and read the others for new perspectives and more adventures. Use your device's back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice.

YOU CHOOSE the path you take through history.

You sit in front of your tent in a large, bustling camp in New York. Activity is all around you. Massive pots boil over open fires and men sweating in the summer heat rush between the tents. You hear excited talk, hollers, and even the occasional laugh. Horses whinny while hundreds of soldiers sleep, eat, and, like you, await their orders. General George Washington is in camp too, though you have yet to see the great leader.

Americas war for independence from Great Britain has been going on for six years and everyone is exhausted. You have seen friends killed in battle as well as frozen and starved to death in the brutal winters. You find yourself wondering if independence is really worth it.

But today there is a new feeling in the humid air a feeling of excitement. Washington has planned a sneak attack on British forces stationed in Yorktown, Virginia. The French navy has attacked and weakened the British navy on the Chesapeake Bay, where Yorktown is located. Striking now and taking back the town could bring an end to the war.

Your commander approaches. It is time to move out. Your stomach boils with the usual anxiety about battle and a thrill that victory may be at hand.

You have been a soldier in the French army for many years. Youve fought bravely and sometimes been injured in European wars. After all these years, you have risen to the rank of captain. As you reach the end of your long career, you are well respected and loved by your men. They and your superiors consider you to be an intelligent, honorable soldier.

Because you have served France well, you were given the option to stay home from this war. You could have taken an easier assignment. But you could not resist coming to America to help defend the colonists from Britain.

After all, the British are Frances enemy. And you feel that the patriot cause is exciting and just. But you have been away from home for nearly three years. You keep thinking of your twin sons, Bastien and Paul. They are now 8 years old, though they were 5 years old the last time you saw them. You have seen many French soldiers, including men under your command, die for America. You want to win this war, but for the sake of your family, you do not want to end up joining the long list of the war dead.

For the past few days, General Rochambeau and General Washington have been talking about attacking New York City. But with the news that the French navy has defeated British ships near Yorktown, the plan has changed. Rochambeau holds an officers meeting in his tent. French troops, along with the patriots, will be marching south to Yorktown starting tonight.

General George Washington and French General Rochambeau give orders to their men in 1781.

A small number of troops will also stay back to create a diversion. They will keep camp and make it look like all the troops are here.

Due to your seniority, you are given a choice. You may lead your army to Yorktown and help storm the town. Or you can stay here in New York and create the diversion.

Sure, you want to be safe. But youre a soldier. Staying behind while others fight doesnt feel right. You will lead your army to Yorktown.

You order your men to pack up. After dark, you move out. Several French and Continental units are marching south. You split up after leaving New York its easier to keep your movements secret with smaller groups. It also makes it easier to forage for food when you dont have thousands of men foraging in the same area.

You reach Williamsburg, Virginia, in mid-September. After a few days, all the armies have arrived and you head for Yorktown together. But there is news. British ships are sailing for Yorktown to reinforce the army there. You must attack quickly and decisively, or the reinforcements will drive you back and prolong the war.

Ahead of the town is a series of . These are fortifications made from the tops of trees with branches sharpened into spikes. They are impossible to get through.

Sharp spikes were placed around British outposts to help prevent enemy attacks.

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Before you stands a British soldier who does not look well. He appears weak, thin, and scared. He scratches a rash on his neck.

Please, the prisoner says. You must stop your attack. In the town there is much suffering.. No food. Even Americans suffer and die. Stop the shelling.

Your wife would be happy to know that you are taking the safer route. By staying in New York, you hope to avoid flying musket balls and live to see your sons again. But as you watch the other troops head off in the middle of the night, you feel a pang of guilt.

Through the night your men build bread ovens and keep them stoked. You burn fires, move around heavy equipment, and dig trenches. Your men make plenty of noise. The ruse is successful. According to a report from patriot spies, the British in New York are preparing for defense. They have no idea most of the allied armies have gone south.

Its good news indeed. The bad news is that you are very bored.

Thats when a messenger enters the camp on horseback. He calls to you and you wait as he dismounts. Important news, sir! he says.

The news is that a severe fever and rash has spread through one of the Continental army units. The men cant go on. They are returning to the New York camp now and will take over the diversion as best they can. You will have to join the fighting after all.

The general does not need to be distracted right now. Of course the enemy is suffering this is war. You have the redcoat shackled to a post and forget about him.

Finally, the shelling stops and General abatis. The soldiers following them will attack without firing. The point is to be quick and quiet.