British General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, a decisive event in the America250 Revolutionary War story.
The Siege of Yorktown took place in Virginia from September 28 to October 19, 1781. American forces led by George Washington and French troops commanded by the Comte de Rochambeau trapped the British army on the York River peninsula.
French naval forces also played a vital role by preventing a British relief fleet from controlling the Chesapeake Bay. After weeks of artillery fire and trench operations, Cornwallis's position became untenable. He sent representatives to negotiate surrender terms.
The surrender did not legally end the war; the Treaty of Paris followed in 1783. However, Yorktown was the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War and sharply reduced British political support for continuing the conflict.