British General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, during the American Revolutionary War.
The surrender followed the Siege of Yorktown in Virginia, where American forces under George Washington and French forces under the Comte de Rochambeau trapped Cornwallis's army. A French fleet's victory at the Battle of the Chesapeake prevented British naval relief and helped make the siege decisive.
American and French troops tightened their lines around Yorktown while artillery battered British positions. Cornwallis requested terms on October 17, and the formal surrender ceremony took place two days later.
The Yorktown victory did not legally end the war immediately. Fighting and negotiations continued, and the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. Yorktown nevertheless convinced many British leaders that continuing the conflict was too costly and helped lead to peace negotiations.