Charles Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781.
The Siege of Yorktown ended on October 19, 1781, when Cornwallis’s British army surrendered to the allied American and French forces commanded by George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau.
Yorktown was a coordinated land-and-sea operation. American and French troops surrounded the British position on the York River, while the French fleet’s victory in the Battle of the Chesapeake helped prevent British relief. Allied artillery and siege trenches steadily reduced the defenses.
The surrender did not legally end the war immediately, and fighting continued elsewhere. However, Yorktown destroyed political support in Britain for continuing major offensive operations in North America. Peace negotiations led to the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which formally recognized American independence.