Battle of the Chesapeake
E78041
The Battle of the Chesapeake was a pivotal 1781 naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War in which the French fleet blocked British relief forces, directly enabling the American victory at Yorktown.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Battle of the Virginia Capes | 1 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
battle of the American Revolutionary War
ⓘ
naval battle ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
Battle of the Chesapeake
ⓘ
surface form:
Battle of the Virginia Capes
|
| belligerent |
France
ⓘ
Great Britain ⓘ |
| blocked | entrance to Chesapeake Bay for British fleet ⓘ |
| campaign |
Siege of Yorktown
ⓘ
surface form:
Yorktown campaign
|
| combatantCommanderSide |
François Joseph Paul de Grasse
ⓘ
surface form:
François Joseph Paul de Grasse – French side
Samuel Hood – British side ⓘ Thomas Graves – British side ⓘ |
| commander |
François Joseph Paul de Grasse
ⓘ
Admiral Samuel Hood ⓘ
surface form:
Samuel Hood
Thomas Graves ⓘ |
| conflict | American Revolutionary War ⓘ |
| countryInvolved |
Kingdom of France
ⓘ
Kingdom of Great Britain ⓘ |
| date | 5 September 1781 ⓘ |
| datePrecision | single-day engagement ⓘ |
| era | Age of Sail ⓘ |
| fleet |
French West Indies fleet
ⓘ
Royal Navy North America and West Indies Station ⓘ
surface form:
Royal Navy fleet from New York
|
| followedBy | Siege of Yorktown surrender of British forces ⓘ |
| geographicContext | off Cape Henry and Cape Charles, Virginia ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
decisive naval engagement securing American independence
ⓘ
one of the most important naval battles of the 18th century ⓘ |
| location |
Atlantic Ocean
ⓘ
off the Virginia Capes ⓘ |
| navalPower | demonstrated rising French naval strength against Britain ⓘ |
| navalTactic | line of battle ⓘ |
| notableFor | coordination between French naval forces and allied land forces ⓘ |
| partOf | American Revolutionary War ⓘ |
| precededBy | French capture of Tobago ⓘ |
| prevented | British relief of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown ⓘ |
| region |
Chesapeake Bay region
ⓘ
surface form:
Chesapeake Bay approaches
|
| result |
British fleet repulsed
ⓘ
French victory ⓘ strategic Franco-American victory ⓘ |
| shipsInvolvedApprox |
19 British ships of the line
ⓘ
24 French ships of the line ⓘ |
| strategicConsequence |
British army at Yorktown cut off from sea-based relief
ⓘ
contributed directly to the end of major operations in the American Revolutionary War ⓘ enabled Franco-American victory at the Siege of Yorktown ⓘ |
| supportedOperation | Siege of Yorktown ⓘ |
| supportedSide |
American revolutionaries
ⓘ
Continental Army ⓘ |
| tacticalOutcome | inconclusive ship losses but strategic French success ⓘ |
| theater | North American theater of the American Revolutionary War ⓘ |
| year | 1781 ⓘ |
Referenced by (5)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Battle of the Virginia Capes