1. VISITOR CENTER. It is suggested that you stop first at the Visitor Center located high above the York River and nestled in a curve of existing fortifications. It is on the southeast edge of town with convenient connection to the Colonial Parkway. Park personnel is available here to assist you in planning your visit, as well as an information desk, literature, a series of exhibits including _Washington’s Tent_, and several dioramas. An introductory program of slides and motion pictures is featured. Included, too, is the _Ship Exhibit_—a reconstructed section of a gundeck and of the captain’s cabin of a British 44-gun frigate, the _Charon_, which was sunk at Yorktown in 1781. It aids in the display of objects salvaged from the river. On the roof of the Visitor Center is an _observation deck_ where you can view the town, the battlefield, and the river. Adjacent to the building are old existing embarkments on which are Revolutionary War artillery pieces. One is the _Lafayette Cannon_, a piece taken from the British at Yorktown by troops under the command of the Marquis de Lafayette and later recognized by him in 1824 when he saw it at the Watervliet Arsenal in New York. Battlefield Tour. A self-guiding auto tour begins and ends at the Visitor Center. Along the drive are the major points of interest which are briefly described below. The complete tour is some 15 miles long but you can take a shorter tour of the 5-mile inner loop. It embraces the battlegrounds, the French and American encampment areas, and the village of Yorktown. The route is marked by uniform signs. 2. REDOUBT NO. 9 (reconstructed). A detachment of 400 French soldiers distinguished itself on the night of October 14 by storming this British strong point. The fall of this redoubt, and its neighbor, Redoubt No. 10, which was stormed by the Americans on the same night, was a decisive action of the siege. 3. AMERICAN BATTERY NO. 2, SECOND ALLIED SIEGE LINE. Erected after the capture of Redoubts Nos. 9 and 10, it was one of the most important positions of the second siege line. There are several original artillery pieces mounted in this reconstructed battery. [Illustration: _French sailors visit British Redoubt No. 9 which their countrymen captured in 1781._] [Illustration: _The Lafayette Cannon—a 12-pounder made by W. Bowen in 1759._] 4. REDOUBT NO. 10. Close to the edge of the riverbank, a small part of the moat of this siege position is preserved and the parapet has been rebuilt. This is all that now remains. The rest of the position has been destroyed by erosion of the cliffs in the years since 1781. It was captured from the British on the night of October 14 in a bayonet attack led by Alexander Hamilton. Among those who distinguished themselves was Sgt. William Brown who later was the recipient of one of the first Purple Heart awards ever made. This award then was made only for extraordinary bravery in action.