- "The French navy and the Continental Army conceived a daring plan to entrap Cornwallis in Yorktown. The plan worked; Cornwallis surrendered Yorktown, and three weeks later the war was over."
- "Although the American military was still enduring losses in 1780, the French were making a difference. The French navy was disrupting the British blockade. French commanders such as LaFayette and Rochambeau earned the respect and admiration of the American troops."
- "The year 1781 found a large squadron of British troops led by Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. Cornwallis hoped to keep his men in the Chesapeake town until fresh supplies and reinforcements could arrive from Britain. The French and the Americans conspired to capture the British before that could happen."
- "A French naval unit led by Admiral De Grasse headed north from the West Indies. Washington's army was stationed near New York City at the time. Along with a French unit from Rhode Island, Washington's troops marched over 300 miles south toward Yorktown. Along the way, he staged fake military maneuvers to keep the British off guard."
- Treaty of Paris John Trumbull painted Surrender of Cornwallis in 1786-87. Although Trumbull did sketch the actual scene of surrender, his painting was not meant to be a literal recording of the event. "