Palaces Out Of Paragraphs

English 1102: Hamilton and Writing

Historical Annotation Project Update: Articles of Capitulation, Yorktown

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By Ben Payne

 

The document I chose for my historical annotation project was the Articles of Capitulation, Yorktown. This was drafted by the aides de camp of Washington prior to the victory and subsequent surrender of the British, thus ending the Revolutionary War. The audience of the document was the commanders of the British, American, and French forces. Ironically, John Laurens, the American delegate to the surrender negotiations, died 9 months after the signing of the document, one of the last casualties of the American Revolution.

I was drawn to the document because I had read the Articles of Capitulation at Fort Necessity earlier on when reading the Genius.com annotations. It was interesting to me that the only two documents that I could find named articles of capitulation were these two. I wanted to dive into the effect being on the losing side during the French and Indian war had on Washington’s demands when accepting the surrender of the British army 27 years later. The document is important because not only does it signify the end of the war, but it is also the first document that set the path for cooperation between the two sovereign powers.

To research the document and fully understand it, I have had and will have to look at other treaties and surrenders of the time (Seven Years War, French and Indian War, War of Austrian Succession, etc) to see the customary terms of surrender. Also, there are some specific words used in the document that aren’t used today, so the Online Etymology Dictionary will prove to be useful. I will be looking into historical critiques of the surrender and the battle at Yorktown in general. I have been putting off some of the research, but look forward to using the library for all it’s worth.

Fortunately, the document sets itself up well for the annotation project. Each article is self contained and is simple enough to explain. The main challenge I have run into is that the document is 1200 words, or just over the maximum of 900 words for the project, and I’ve had to select only an excerpt of the document. Ideally, if I had time I would like to be able to annotate the entire document, even if nobody other than Dr. Wilson will be reading it. The other main challenge is one of time management. Because of my job, I have limited time to work on this project, and I need to make better use of my weekends.

 

Characterization of New York in Hamilton

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By Ben Payne

While listening to Act 1 of Hamilton, it was evident to me that one of the methods Lin Manuel Miranda used to connect today’s Broadway audience with the scene of 1770s New York was by presenting New York as a place where dreams are made true. Today, New York, like Los Angeles, is seen as the place to be for young people trying to make their place in the world. Want to be a world class chef? Go to New York. Want to be an artist? Go to New York. Are you an immigrant looking to start a new life in America? Go to New York. The same holds true with Alexander Hamilton, a young man looking to make his mark and do the million things he hasn’t done yet.

Since the first performance of the song “Alexander Hamilton” at the White House, Lin Manuel Miranda has been bent on convincing us that the life of Alexander Hamilton is one that embodies hip-hop. In “Alexander Hamilton”, the repetition in the background of “In New York you can be a new man” is reminiscent of Jay-Z and Alicia Key’s “Empire State of Mind”, a song about self-reinvention and the role of the city in making dreams come true.

Excerpt from the Articles of Capitulation, Yorktown

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By Ben Payne

Source: http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/articles-of-capitulation-yorktown-1781/

Written by Samuel Shaw, aide de camp for Henry Knox, terms negotiated by George Washington, Lord Cornwallis, and others

ARTICLE I. The garrisons of York and Gloucester including the officers and seamen of his Britannic Majesty’s ships, as well as other mariners, to surrender themselves prisoners of war to the combined forces of America and France. The land troops to remain prisoners to the United States, the navy to the naval army of his Most Christian Majesty.
Granted.

Article II. The artillery, arms, accoutrements, military chest, and public stores of every denomination, shall be delivered unimpaired to the heads of departments appointed to receive them.
Granted.

Article III. At twelve o’clock this day the two redoubts on the left flank of York to be delivered, the one to a detachment of American infantry, the other to a detachment of French grenadiers.
Granted.

The garrison of York will march out to a place to be appointed in front of the posts, at two o’clock precisely, with shouldered arms, colors cased, and drums beating a British or German march. They are then to ground their arms, and return to their encampments, where they will remain until they are despatched to the places of their destination. Two works on the Gloucester side will be delivered at one o’clock to a detachment of French and American troops appointed to possess them. The garrison will march out at three o’clock in the afternoon; the cavalry with their swords drawn, trumpets sounding, and the infantry in the manner prescribed for the garrison of York. They are likewise to return to their encampments until they can be finally marched off.

Article IV. Officers are to retain their side-arms. Both officers and soldiers to keep their private property of every kind; and no part of their baggage or papers to be at any time subject to search or inspection. The baggage and papers of officers and soldiers taken during the siege to be likewise preserved for them.
Granted.

It is understood that any property obviously belonging to the inhabitants of these States, in the possession of the garrison, shall be subject to be reclaimed.

Article V. The soldiers to be kept in Virginia, Maryland, or Pennsylvania, and as much by regiments as possible, and supplied with the same rations of provisions as are allowed to soldiers in the service of America. A field-officer from each nation, to wit, British, Anspach, and Hessian, and other officers on parole, in the proportion of one to fifty men to be allowed to reside near their respective regiments, to visit them frequently, and be witnesses of their treatment; and that their officers may receive and deliver clothing and other necessaries for them, for which passports are to be granted when applied for.
Granted.

Article VI. The general, staff, and other officers not employed as mentioned in the above articles, and who choose it, to be permitted to go on parole to Europe, to New York, or to any other American maritime posts at present in the possession of the British forces, at their own option; and proper vessels to be granted by the Count de Grasse to carry them under flags of truce to New York within ten days from this date, if possible, and they to reside in a district to be agreed upon hereafter, until they embark. The officers of the civil department of the army and navy to be included in this article. Passports to go by land to be granted to those to whom vessels cannot be furnished.
Granted.

Article VII. Officers to be allowed to keep soldiers as servants, according to the common practice of the service. Servants not soldiers are not to be considered as prisoners, and are to be allowed to attend their masters.
Granted.

Article VIII. The Bonetta sloop-of-war to be equipped, and navigated by its present captain and crew, and left entirely at the disposal of Lord Cornwallis from the hour that the capitulation is signed, to receive an aid-de-camp to carry despatches to Sir Henry Clinton; and such soldiers as he may think proper to send to New York, to be permitted to sail without examination. When his despatches are ready, his Lordship engages on his part, that the ship shall be delivered to the order of the Count de Grasse, if she escapes the dangers of the sea. That she shall not carry off any public stores. Any part of the crew that may be deficient on her return, and the soldiers passengers, to be accounted for on her delivery.

 

…..

Done at Yorktown, in Virginia, October 19th, 1781.

Cornwallis,
Thomas Symonds.

Done in the Trenches before Yorktown, in Virginia, October 19th, 1781.
George Washington,
Le Comte de Rochambeau,
Le Comte de Barras,
En mon nom & celui du
Comte de Grasse.

Introduction to Me

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By Ben Payne

Hello everyone, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ben, I’m an Aerospace Engineering

My babies, but the only one I still have right now is the motorcycle

major from Peachtree City, GA. I’ve had a long history here at Georgia Tech, starting classes in the Fall of 2009 with a couple breaks in between. But I’m set to graduate in the Fall of 2018 assuming all goes well, so I’m almost done. My major obligation this summer other than this class is my full time job. I work as a freight agent for an auto transport broker based in my hometown. So I’m working Monday through Friday, as well as some Saturdays. Immediately following class, I drive (or ride my motorcycle) over to my sister’s place in Decatur and start working until 10pm.

One of the major reasons it has taken me this long to graduate has been English classes. Earlier in my college career, I would sign up for an English course, become interested in the early stages of the course, then fall behind in coursework and attendance, and, because of the mandatory attendance policy in place, be forced to drop the class. I believe I took at least five different ENGL 1101 classes before finally passing in the Fall of 2017. And even that one was close. I hope to rid myself of some of my bad procrastination habits this semester, although it may be difficult, as I am also working full time while taking this class. I do enjoy parts of communication; mostly reading about things I’m interested in, but the other side of communication has always been a struggle for me. I’m great at editing things, whether they be writing or visual, but producing things from scratch usually makes my head spin not knowing where to start. I’m hoping to improve my writing, making it more fluid and understandable, as well as my verbal communication, as getting my thoughts out correctly the first time has proved a struggle for me in the past. I’m also excited to work on electronic communication, with these blog posts and tweets, as well as the historical annotation project.

Prior to this class, I had never seen a Broadway musical. In high school, a trip to New York for an academic tournament sent us to a production of Stomp off-Broadway, but I’ve never seen a major musical. I have listened to the Wicked soundtrack from start to finish once after a friend’s daughter saw the play and shared it with me.

I first heard of Hamilton in early 2016, when I was planning a trip to New York to visit my cousin at Columbia. I was interested in seeing something on Broadway, and she suggested it, but also said that tickets were basically impossible to come by. Time ending up slipping away on that trip, and I never went to see a play. I guess it wasn’t meant to be, but I am glad to be studying Hamilton now, other than the fact that the songs are stuck in my head all day everyday now after listening to them all multiple times

 

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