The Siege of Yorktown led to Britain’s major surrender in the American Revolutionary War in 1781.
The Franco-American operation took place from September 28 to October 19, 1781, in Yorktown and Gloucester, Virginia. George Washington commanded the American forces alongside French troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau. French naval forces under the Comte de Grasse blocked the Chesapeake Bay, preventing British reinforcements or escape by sea.
The allied army gradually surrounded the British position commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. On October 14, American and French troops captured key British outer redoubts, allowing their artillery to move closer. Cornwallis requested surrender terms on October 17, and the formal surrender occurred two days later.
More than 7,000 British soldiers became prisoners. Yorktown was the final major land engagement of the war, although fighting at sea continued and the peace treaty came later. The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, formally ended the conflict and recognized American independence.