not altogether unaccountable, in | around with the completion of the centuthe thousand and one more seriatters in hand. The dilemma of the nces, and the creation of a new polita system requiring the attention of Vars, inevitably overshadowed everythi ng of a purely sentimental nature. A monument could wait, as long as the patriotic intent and resolution were on rec- The scene of the surrender has long ord. It could wait, indeed, until some been a much-neglected spot. Yorktown later generation, appreciating fully the is not reached by railway, and is off the magnitude of the victory, would be dis- line of progress. Some day it may revive posed to commemorate it in a fitting man- its old-time prosperity; at least it ought ner, and make the memorial truly histor- to become more accessible as a point for ical, representing alike the struggles of future pilgrimage. Before the Revoluthe fathers and the gratitude of their de- tion the town was quite an emporium, scendants. The time for it has come the only port from which the Virginia ry, and we are now promised both a grand celebration and a grand monument-the Forty-sixth Congress making good the resolution of the Continental Congress by voting an appropriation of one hundred and forty thousand dollars for both objects. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by Harper and Brothers, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. No. CCCLXXV.-AUGUST, 1881.-VOL. LXIII. THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS. HE French Duc de la Roche Toucauld - Liancourt, who made a tour of the United States at the close of the last century, expressed surprise and disappointment at not finding the monument at Yorktown, Virginia, which the Continental Congress, fifteen years before, had voted to erect there in commemoration of Cornwallis's surrender. "It is not even yet begun," he wrote, in 1796; and if he grew indignant enough to add that "such negligence is inconceivable, shameful, and unaccountable," we must admit that as one of that nation which contributed so much to the great event, he was not at all officious in his rebuke. But perhaps the duke was a trifle severe, and judged us by the standard of republican Rome, which accorded military triumphs and set up memorials and statues without stint. Why no monument was erected at Yorktown during the Revolutionary generation is not altogether unaccountable, in | around with the completion of the centuview of the thousand and one more serious matters in hand. The dilemma of the finances, and the creation of a new political system requiring the attention of years, inevitably overshadowed everything of a purely sentimental nature. monument could wait, as long as the patriotic intent and resolution were on record. It could wait, indeed, until some later generation, appreciating fully the magnitude of the victory, would be disposed to commemorate it in a fitting manner, and make the memorial truly historical, representing alike the struggles of the fathers and the gratitude of their descendants. The time for it has come A THE MARQUIS DE LA FAYETTE. ry, and we are now promised both a grand celebration and a grand monument-the Forty-sixth Congress making good the resolution of the Continental Congress by voting an appropriation of one hundred and forty thousand dollars for both objects. The scene of the surrender has long been a much-neglected spot. Yorktown is not reached by railway, and is off the line of progress. Some day it may revive its old-time prosperity; at least it ought to become more accessible as a point for future pilgrimage. Before the Revolution the town was quite an emporium, the only port from which the Virginia Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by Harper and Brothers, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. |