At which 1781 battle did British General Cornwallis surrender to the allied American and French forces?

The Battle of Yorktown, more precisely the Siege of Yorktown, ended with British General Charles Cornwallis surrendering to allied American and French forces in 1781.

The decisive campaign took place in Virginia from September 28 to October 19, 1781. General George Washington commanded the American army, while French troops under the Comte de Rochambeau joined the operation. French naval forces helped prevent British relief by defeating a British fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake.

Cornwallis had fortified Yorktown on the York River, expecting support by sea. The allies surrounded the position, built siege lines, and subjected the defenses to sustained artillery fire. On October 19, Cornwallis’s army formally surrendered, although Cornwallis did not attend the ceremony and sent Brigadier General Charles O’Hara in his place.

The surrender did not legally end the Revolutionary War. Fighting and negotiations continued, but the defeat made a British political settlement increasingly likely. The conflict concluded with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognized United States independence.