Revolutionary War French Bayonet, recovered many years ago at Yorktown Battlefield

This is another nice early piece coming out of a 60-year collection of French & Indian War, Revolutionary War, and War of 1812 artifacts. Being offered is an excavated Revolutionary War French bayonet with a 13” blade. Originally the blade would have been 13 ¾” but the tip had been broken off, as well as most of the socket. They were sent by France for the use of the American forces during the Revolution. This was a battlefield recovery from Yorktown, Virginia.

Major General Marquis de Lafayette and his troops constituted at least half of the allied forces surrounding Yorktown. This meant that the French occupied at least half of the bulwarks surrounding Yorktown. In fact, Washington did not have sufficient troops to encircle Yorktown. Cornwallis and his troops would surely have escaped to New York, had it not been for the presence of the French troops.

On October 3rd, 1781, Allied Forces [American and French] met a force sent by Cornwallis at what became the Battle of the Hook in which the British were driven from Glouster to Yorktown. A French Navy fleet arrived in time to chase off a fleet of British ships that were to rescue Cornwallis and his troops from their dangerous position at Yorktown.

On Oct. 9, 1781, Washington himself fired the first American cannon at the Siege of Yorktown. With the ceremonial shot, one member of the Continental Army remembered, “Earl Cornwallis has received his first salutation.” The artillery barrage from 155 French and American howitzers, cannons, and mortars continued for the next 11 days.

The flashes of the cannons and the flaring bomb shells lit up the night sky as the allies dug trenches and moved closer to Cornwallis’ army. On Oct. 17, Cornwallis agreed to a cease fire. Almost 15,500 cannonballs and bomb shells had been hurled into Yorktown, about 80 rounds per hour. Two days later, Washington accepted the surrender of Cornwallis’ army.

As you can see, the damage to the bayonet was not from being rusted away, but from being in battle. It is a solid piece and has been coated for preservation. This collection began in the late 1950s and was created by private acquisitions, closed museums, diggers, and from lake divers. The collector meticulously displayed and cataloged every piece along with its provenance. His markings were crude at the time, but now they have proved to be very important. Many of the pieces went through electrolysis to remove crusted rust.

This is the first time this bayonet has been on the open market, and it is truly a great piece of early American History. It definitely merits a place in an advanced collection or museum. As with all the pieces in this esteemed collection, a Certificate of Authenticity will be included.