Historical Events in 1781

Jan 1 1,500 soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne's command rebel against the Continental Army's winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey as part of the Pennsylvania (Continentals; Regiment) Mutiny of 1781.

Jan 5 British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burns Richmond, Virginia

Jan 29 Wolfgang Mozart's dramatic opera "Idomeneo" premieres at the Cuvilliés Theatre in Munich, Germany

Mar 13 William Herschel sees what he thinks is a "comet" but is actually the discovery of the planet Uranus

Mar 15 Battle of Guilford Court House; British troops under Cornwallis defeat American forces but their heavy losses led to ceding of territory and a strategic loss

Mar 18 Charles Messier rediscovers global cluster M92

Jun 3 Jack Jouett rides to warn Thomas Jefferson of British attack

Aug 20 George Washington begins to move his troops south to fight Cornwallis

Sep 5 American Revolutionary War: French fleet of 24 ships under Comte de Grasse defeat British forces under Admiral Graves at the Battle of the Chesapeake [Battle of the Virginia Capes] and trap Cornwallis

Sep 28 9,000 American and 7,000 French troops begin siege of Yorktown

Oct 19 British forces under General Charles Cornwallis sign terms of surrender to George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown at 2 pm, ending the US Revolutionary War

Dec 28 Comte de Rochambeau and Nicolas Luckner are the last generals to be made Marshal of France by Louis XVI before the Revolution