The air had a campfire smell to it. All around were tiny white tents pitched neatly in rows. However, no one was using them for sleeping. Tourists were wandering around and taking in the sights. To one side of the field was a gentleman dressed in a Colonial Army uniform and holding a musket. Not just ANY musket, but a replica of one from the birth of our nation, a French Charlesville .69 caliber Model 1763 firelock complete with bayonet. He was showing a small crowd how to load it with gunpowder and the many steps that it took to pack and prepare the piece. This was no small feat. Even though he was quick, it still took several moments to ready the weapon. His steps were complete. He told his crowd that he was going to commence. He finally said, “Make Ready, take aim, and then fire.” And then he fired … and so did I. My camera was to my eye and I was hoping to capture the moment when he pulled the trigger. Sparks flew. Smoke unfurled. And I got it all.

After the live fire exhibit concluded, the soldier looked at me holding my camera and asked if I had gotten anything good. I smiled ... “wanna see?” I said. I showed him the moment that he fired the musket. He loved it. He then took my small tourist party (a whopping two of us) under his wing and gave us a behind the scenes tour if you will. Yorktown, Virginia, is dripping with history. Many would agree that this is where General Washington took a very small window of opportunity to try and defeat the British.

And. He. Did.

It is considered the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War and Washington had won it decisively. What Bob, my in-person revolutionary war soldier, was about to share in regards to one small piece of the action was fascinating.

Bob explained that the little tents that we saw neatly peppered over the land were tasked to hold about six soldiers each. How that was possible, I still don’t know (these tents were tiny for pint-size campers). One soldier from each tent would be responsible for cooking for their entire tent family (this was referred to as a “mess”).  In the late 1700s, preparing rations was an all-day-affair. To do this under normal circumstances, the camp would have to be made, rations issues and cooked, food eaten, and then camp broken down before moving the regiment to its next objective.

Washington was pressed for precious time as his Army moved toward Yorktown. The British, behind fortifications at Yorktown, were short of supplies but were expecting reinforcements from New York. The moment for Washington to strike was now. If reinforcements reached the British before Washington did, the moment to attack would be gone.

What Washington did seems so minor in the backdrop of a full-on-war, but it made all the difference. He had soldiers to feed. He didn’t have time to stop and prepare rations. And he had a war to win. The solution? He sent Quartermaster soldiers ahead of the regiment to cook for the whole army. As the soldiers filed past the ration points, they were handed food to eat while they kept marching. They arrived at Yorktown and defeated the British one day before their reinforcements arrived. Had Washington waited even just one day, who knows how the Revolutionary War would have proceeded from there.

The Siege of Yorktown was a huge American success partly because of the simple idea not to make camp, but largely because of the idea to keep persevering at an opportune moment.

March forward and make the most of your day.