The Battle of Yorktown was a major turning point in the Revolutionary War and led to the creation of the United States of America. After six grueling years of war, the end of the war was near. Six months before, the morale of the Continental Army was at its lowest point of the war. Congress was bankrupt due to rampant inflation caused by the massive production of continental dollars. The Continental Army was being defeated in the south by the British who had reconquered South Carolina and Georgia. Many men in the Continental Army were also mutinying. However, in July 1780, a French force landed at Newport, Rhode Island, which greatly boosted American morale (Fleming 11-13). Russia had suggested peace negotiations between the Americans and the British, but the Americans were sure they would not enjoy their freedom or unity as thirteen colonies. If they had entered into peace negotiations without major new victories, even if they had gained their freedom, they would not have been unified and would have quickly been taken over by the British. Washington planned to achieve a major victory by retaking New York from the British. He had sent the Marquis de Lafayette to counter the British invasion of Virginia and sent him a message regarding his plans toward New York, but the message was captured by the British. and the plans were discovered (Fleming 14-16). General Rochambeau dissuades Washington from attacking New York and persuades him to attack Cornwallis instead. Cornwallis had abandoned his campaign in the Carolinas because he had been defeated by Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens and had won a Pyrrhic victory against Nathaniel Greene at the Battle of Guilford Court House and had decided to... . middle of paper...... "The bank rolls the battle of Yorktown: the gold and silver of Havana allowed the American troops to trap Lord Cornwallis and his army." http://go.galegroup.com/. GALE, and Web. December 3, 2013. “Siege of Yorktown.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, December 14, 2013. Web. December 3, 2013. Weber, Michael. “THE BATTLE OF YORKTOWN: THE CLIMAX OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.” http://web.ebscohost.com/. EBSCOhost, nd Web. December 3. 2013. .