The American victory at the Siege of Yorktown occurred in 1781, a turning point before America250.
The siege took place from September 28 to October 19, 1781, in Yorktown, Virginia. American forces commanded by George Washington joined French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau. The allied army surrounded the British army commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis.
French naval power was crucial because the French fleet blocked British relief by sea during the Battle of the Chesapeake. Allied artillery and trenches then tightened the siege around Yorktown. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, although fighting continued in other areas for some time afterward.
Yorktown did not legally end the war; the Treaty of Paris followed in 1783. However, the surrender badly weakened Britain’s political will to continue the conflict and led to peace negotiations. It is therefore remembered as the decisive military victory of the American Revolutionary War.