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The Battle of Yorktown effectively ended the Revolutionary War, securing the independence Americans had sacrificed so much to win.

This time it was the rebels who had all the advantages, in soldiers, in cannon, and in naval power.

Getting those pieces in place was a combination of brilliant generalship, deep pockets of a Philadelphia businessman, and mind-bending luck.

The brilliant generalship was displayed by two men, George Washington and his most trusted subordinate, Nathanael Greene.

It was Greene's daring strategy at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina in March of 1781 that set the stage for the decisive showdown at Yorktown seven months later.

Greene knew he would likely lose the North Carolina battle, but that was okay because he could sustain losses, whereas his opponent, British General Charles Cornwallis, isolated from his supply lines, could not.