[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 10, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMEMORATING THE 230TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING OF THE TREATY OF 
                                 PARIS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT J. WITTMAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 10, 2013

  Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize September 3, 
2013, as the 230th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Paris. 
The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, thus ending 
American Revolutionary War and declaring the ``United States to be 
free, sovereign and independent states.'' The Continental Congress 
ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784.
   I am proud to represent Virginia's First District, frequently 
referred to as ``America's First District,'' which is home to Yorktown 
where the Revolutionary War ended on October 19, 1781. With the help of 
our French allies, the decisive Battle of Yorktown resulted in the 
surrender of the British Army commanded by British lord and Lieutenant 
General Lord Cornwallis.
   A resolution of the Continental Congress, dated October 29, 1781, 
called for a ``Yorktown Monument to the Alliance and Victory''. The 
Senate Committee on Military Affairs in its report dated March 16, 
1880, stated that ``the surrender at Yorktown was the crowning success 
of the revolution, and its event should be commemorated by national 
authority.'' The grounds were secured and the cornerstone laid on 
October 18, 1881. Today, the Yorktown Battlefield, site of the last 
major battle of the American Revolutionary War, is administered by the 
National Park Service and is part of Colonial National Historical Park.
   Virginia's First District has a rich history of military service, 
beginning with the Revolutionary War and continuing today. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in commemorating the 230th anniversary of the 
signing of the Treaty of Paris and recognizing the significance of the 
Battle of Yorktown.

                          ____________________