The British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781 during the American Revolutionary War.
The Siege of Yorktown ended on October 19, 1781, when British General Charles Cornwallis’s army surrendered to American and French forces commanded by George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau. French naval support helped prevent British relief and contributed to the allied victory.
Yorktown did not formally end the war immediately. Fighting and diplomatic negotiations continued, but the defeat destroyed Britain’s ability and political will to pursue major offensive operations in North America. The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, formally recognized the independence of the United States.
The Yorktown victory therefore sits between the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the peace treaty in 1783. It is an important neighboring event for America250 because it shows how the political declaration was followed by military struggle before independence became internationally recognized.