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#703
1931 2c Yorktown Issue, Carmine Rose & Black
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U.S. #703
1931 2¢ Yorktown Issue
Issue Date: October 19, 1931
First City: Wethersfield, CT and Yorktown, VA
Quantity Issued: 25,006,400
U.S. Scott #703 is a 2-cent bicolor commemorative stamp issued on October 19, 1931 — exactly 150 years after the surrender of British forces at Yorktown — to mark the sesquicentennial of the decisive final battle of the American Revolutionary War. Designed by C. Aubrey Huston and printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in carmine rose and black, the stamp is a beautifully engraved bicolor issue depicting three oval portraits side by side: Count de Rochambeau on the left, General George Washington in the center, and Count de Grasse on the right. The inscription "Yorktown 1781–1931" appears prominently across the top. Scott #703 was issued just months after the von Steuben (#689) and Pulaski (#690) commemoratives, continuing a deliberate series honoring the foreign allies whose contributions to the Revolution were essential to its success.
The Battle of Yorktown in October 1781 was the culmination of a brilliantly coordinated Franco-American campaign. As late as the summer of that year, the outcome of the war remained far from certain. General Washington had wanted to attack British-held New York City, but French General Rochambeau persuaded him instead to strike at Lord Cornwallis's army, which had taken up position at Yorktown, Virginia. The strategy was made possible by Admiral de Grasse, who sailed his powerful French fleet north from the West Indies and defeated the British navy at the Battle of the Chesapeake in early September — cutting off any hope of reinforcement or escape by sea. With the French controlling the water and the combined Franco-American forces closing in on land, Cornwallis was trapped. On October 19, 1781, he surrendered an army of more than 7,000 troops, effectively ending the war.
Each of the three men depicted on this stamp made a unique and indispensable contribution to the victory. Washington provided the political and military leadership that held the alliance together. Rochambeau commanded the French land forces with professionalism and strategic wisdom, having served as the key advocate for the Yorktown strategy over Washington's preferred plan. And de Grasse, whose naval supremacy made the whole operation possible, delivered the decisive blow at sea before the land siege even began.
U.S. #703
1931 2¢ Yorktown Issue
Issue Date: October 19, 1931
First City: Wethersfield, CT and Yorktown, VA
Quantity Issued: 25,006,400
U.S. Scott #703 is a 2-cent bicolor commemorative stamp issued on October 19, 1931 — exactly 150 years after the surrender of British forces at Yorktown — to mark the sesquicentennial of the decisive final battle of the American Revolutionary War. Designed by C. Aubrey Huston and printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in carmine rose and black, the stamp is a beautifully engraved bicolor issue depicting three oval portraits side by side: Count de Rochambeau on the left, General George Washington in the center, and Count de Grasse on the right. The inscription "Yorktown 1781–1931" appears prominently across the top. Scott #703 was issued just months after the von Steuben (#689) and Pulaski (#690) commemoratives, continuing a deliberate series honoring the foreign allies whose contributions to the Revolution were essential to its success.
The Battle of Yorktown in October 1781 was the culmination of a brilliantly coordinated Franco-American campaign. As late as the summer of that year, the outcome of the war remained far from certain. General Washington had wanted to attack British-held New York City, but French General Rochambeau persuaded him instead to strike at Lord Cornwallis's army, which had taken up position at Yorktown, Virginia. The strategy was made possible by Admiral de Grasse, who sailed his powerful French fleet north from the West Indies and defeated the British navy at the Battle of the Chesapeake in early September — cutting off any hope of reinforcement or escape by sea. With the French controlling the water and the combined Franco-American forces closing in on land, Cornwallis was trapped. On October 19, 1781, he surrendered an army of more than 7,000 troops, effectively ending the war.
Each of the three men depicted on this stamp made a unique and indispensable contribution to the victory. Washington provided the political and military leadership that held the alliance together. Rochambeau commanded the French land forces with professionalism and strategic wisdom, having served as the key advocate for the Yorktown strategy over Washington's preferred plan. And de Grasse, whose naval supremacy made the whole operation possible, delivered the decisive blow at sea before the land siege even began.
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