For America's 250th anniversary, on what date did British forces surrender at Yorktown?

British forces surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.

The Siege of Yorktown was the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Army under George Washington joined French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau, while the French fleet under the Comte de Grasse blocked British reinforcement and escape by sea. Together, the allied forces surrounded the British army commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis.

After weeks of siege operations and artillery bombardment, Cornwallis requested capitulation terms on October 17. Negotiations followed, and the surrender ceremony took place two days later. Cornwallis did not attend, reportedly citing illness; Charles O’Hara led the British troops and formally surrendered to American Major General Benjamin Lincoln.

Yorktown did not instantly end every military action, but it made continued British control of the colonies politically difficult. Peace negotiations followed and culminated in the Treaty of Paris in 1783, in which Great Britain recognized the sovereignty and independence of the United States.