It began in 1775 with "the shot heard 'round the world," and ended with the surrender of British Gen. Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, marking the end of the Revolutionary War.

More than 10 years of strained relations between Britain and the colonies was followed by the initiation of open combat in April 1775 at Concord, Massachusetts, thus beginning a war that lasted eight long years. Although combat ceased in 1781 with the surrender of British forces at Yorktown, the war was not fully resolved until 1783 when the Treaty of Paris was signed, recognizing the sovereignty of the United States and formally concluding the war.

Many of the battles of the Revolutionary War are so notable they are remembered by name to this day. As children, Americans learned about the battles of Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Fort Ticonderoga, Valley Forge and Trenton. Many are not often taught, but the Siege of Yorktown may not have been such a key battle in the war if it hadn't been for a naval battle which had happened more than a month earlier.

The Battle of the Chesapeake, or the Battle of the Virginia Capes, is one very few Americans have even heard about. This is most likely due to the fact that no Americans took part in the battle, which took place between the French and British navies.

On Sept. 5, 1781, a French fleet of 24 ships engaged a British fleet of 19 ships in the Battle of the Virginia Capes. The battle lasted for several days with no decisive victory. The British fleet redirected their forces on Sept. 13, returning to New York to regroup and repair their damaged ships.

The British naval blockade was effectively broken by the Battle of the Chesapeake. As a result, the French wound up in possession of the bay. The French were then able to supply American land forces with heavy artillery, which also denied the British in Yorktown their resupply and escape route. Because British ships couldn't come to their aid, the British had to abandon all hope of retreat, and instead were forced to surrender to Gen. George Washington and his colonial army. Cornwallis' surrender happened less than two months after the Battle of the Chesapeake.

While neither side won nor lost the battle, the French fleet succeeded in the prevention of the British fleet from relieving the besieged army of Cornwallis at Yorktown, leading to the eventual surrender of some 7,000 British troops to the combined American and French army.

James A. Michener wrote in his fictionalized novel of the event, "Chesapeake," about the impact the battle had on American history.

"This engagement was one of the decisive battles of history, for when it was terminated, with the French line of battle still impregnable, the English had to withdraw, leaving the Chesapeake open to the French fleet" wrote Michener. "Rochambeau was now able to bring thousands of French soldiers south for the final thrust against Cornwallis. The iron blockade of the Atlantic ports was broken.

"It became a battle without a name, a triumph without a celebration. It accomplished nothing but the freedom of America, the establishment of a new system of government against which all others would eventually compare themselves, and a revision of the theory of empire."

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