AGS: Yorktown Staff Ride

On October 3 and 4, the Program in American Grand Strategy will hold our annual staff ride - this year to Yorktown, Virginia, site of the final major campaign of the American Revolutionary War.

2026 marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, and the Yorktown campaign of 1781 is the hinge on which that independence turned. Without Washington and Rochambeau's audacious march south, without the French fleet's decisive victory at the Battle of the Capes, and without the siege that forced Cornwallis's surrender, there might be no United States. There is no better moment to walk this ground.

A staff ride is a hands-on educational experience where participants walk the terrain of a battle or campaign. Participants will visit the battlefield and deliver a presentation from the perspective of an individual involved in the Yorktown Campaign - drawn from a cast of historical figures that includes American commanders, French allies, British generals and ministers, a private soldier, a camp follower, and an enslaved man who escaped to the British lines in search of the freedom the Revolution promised but did not yet deliver.

Students are encouraged to apply regardless of program of study, year, or prior involvement with AGS. We are looking for students interested in and willing to participate in an exciting learning exercise on the American Revolution, focusing on the Yorktown Campaign of 1781. No specific expertise is required.

AGS will cover all travel and lodging costs for participants, along with meals. Students will be responsible for any recreational expenses outside of the staff ride's program.