The Spy Who Fooled Cornwallis

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]America almost lost its last chance because Cornwallis thought he was safe.

[00:00:03]>> [music] >> In 1781, the war in the South turned into a race for information. James Armistead entered the British lines as if he was helping them. Cornwallis believed he had a useful man inside the American side, [music] but James was passing the real plans to Lafayette. He carried intelligence through roads where one mistake meant capture. [music] Then he fed the British information that made them underestimate the trap. Around Yorktown, American and French forces started closing the ring. The French fleet blocked the water while Washington and Rochambeau pressed by land.

[00:00:33]Cornwallis waited for escape [music] that was no longer there. The intelligence helped turn confidence into surrender. James Armistead had helped trap the army America needed trapped. A man treated like property helped secure a country [music] still denying him freedom. Few will know what happened next. Wear it. Shopusa250.org.