GLOUCESTER COUNTY, Va. — A field currently used for sports competitions once served as another field—a field for battle in the American Revolution.
The 1781 Battle of the Hook took place in present-day Gloucester County. A core part of the field is in the area where Abingdon Elementary School stands in Hayes.
It was the largest calvary engagement during the American Revolution, representing a strategic victory for the French and the Americans, according to Robert Kelly, the director of the Gloucester County Museum of History.
"It literally took place where we are standing," Kelly said.
He said it happened during the time of the Yorktown campaign when there was a small contingent of British forces at Gloucester Point.
"General Washington was concerned that as the British became more and more isolated at Yorktown, that they may try to cross the river and unite with the troops that were here in Gloucester," Kelly said. "The idea was that if Washington could send troops around of the British and come down from the north through Gloucester, that the troops could basically cut off any retreat route or any escape route."
The British were surrounded by sea.
"A lot of folks forget there was also a siege ring or part of that was going on here in Gloucester," he said."[It forced] the British troops in Gloucester to retreat back to Gloucester Point where they would stay until the surrender day at Yorktown on Oct. 19, 1781."
On Wednesday, Gloucester County along with the American Society of Le Souvenir Français unveiled two markers to tell the story of the battle.
"It represents the Franco-American alliance," Kelly said. "Without France, we would have not won the American Revolution."
Le Souvenir Français works to honor French soldiers and sailors buried in the United States. President of Le Souvenir Français, Thierry Chaunu, said he hopes these markers teach kids in the nearby classroom and honor those who fought.
"It's very important to tell the younger generations who they were, why they came to America, why they fought and died here," Chaunu said. "Some of them are buried right in this ground."
While the markers serve as a history lesson, Chaunu said it serves as a remembrance.
"The world goes on, and we should always remember that when kids play and laugh," he said. "But in this particular instance, some soldiers cried probably while they were wounded and laying on the battlefield."
