At which 1781 siege did British General Charles Cornwallis surrender to American forces?

British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered at the Siege of Yorktown in Virginia on October 19, 1781. American and French forces surrounded Yorktown, while a French fleet blocked British relief by sea, forcing Cornwallis to capitulate.

The allied army was commanded by George Washington and the French general Rochambeau. French troops formed a major part of the besieging force, and French naval control of the Chesapeake Bay prevented the British from evacuating or reinforcing Cornwallis’s army. The siege began in late September after the allies marched south from New York.

Yorktown was not the final military action of the Revolutionary War, but the surrender effectively ended major fighting in North America. Peace negotiations followed, eventually producing the Treaty of Paris in 1783. British forces remained in some positions, and smaller clashes continued after Yorktown.

The event is sometimes called the Battle of Yorktown, but “Siege of Yorktown” is the more precise name because trench warfare, artillery bombardment, and blockade were central to the operation.