Was the british line of defense at yorktown, correct me if wrong wasnt it very dangerous&a horrible place?

Question

Was the british line of defense at yorktown, correct me if wrong wasnt it very dangerous&a horrible place?

Answer 1

Yes, it was.

First, every line of defense is by definition a very dangerous and horrible place. Every one.

Second, proof that it was especially so is that the British chose to fight only enough to see they couldn't budge the American troops, and that no rescue by sea was coming that could penetrate the French fleet. (That rescue couldn't just land troops and supplies, it would have had to defeat the French fleet, chase it off long enough to find a way to safely board 20,000 British soldiers, and then to be strong enough to hold off the French fleet from sinking thousands of those soldiers before arriving at New York to disembark them. All that while somehow remaining strong enough while running to the ships to hold off the all-out American attack that would certainly come.)

They chose to fight long enough to make sure nothing fortunate/lucky for them was going to happen, then surrendered rather than die.

I'd call that hopeless line of defense an especially dangerous and horrible place.

But I have no particulars. I can suggest that the time of year in a swampy, insect and disease-ridden area would have made conditions terrible just because of the oppressive heat and disease. In addition to the cannonballs, bullets and bayonets. Eventually hunger and dysentery would have reared their truly ugly heads as well. The dysentery is in addition to flu and malaria.