The Siege of Yorktown was the American Revolutionary War's final major land engagement.
The siege took place in Virginia from September 28 to October 19, 1781. American and French forces under George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau surrounded the British army commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. French naval forces under the Comte de Grasse blocked British escape and reinforcement by sea.
After American and French troops captured key outer defenses, Cornwallis requested terms of surrender. More than 7,000 British soldiers became prisoners, making Yorktown a decisive Franco-American victory. The British surrender encouraged peace negotiations, although the Treaty of Paris was not signed until 1783.
Yorktown is sometimes described as the end of the Revolutionary War, but fighting continued in other places after the surrender. It is more precisely regarded as the final major land engagement and the decisive campaign that made American independence likely.