Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, ending the final major land engagement of the American Revolution.
American and French forces surrounded the British position in Yorktown, Virginia, while a French naval victory in the Chesapeake helped prevent British relief or escape by sea. George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau directed the allied campaign, and French troops and ships were essential to the operation.
Cornwallis requested surrender terms on October 17. Negotiations followed at the Moore House, and the capitulation ceremony took place two days later. Cornwallis did not attend, citing illness; Charles O'Hara represented him and ultimately presented the sword to Benjamin Lincoln after Washington and Rochambeau declined to accept it personally.
Yorktown did not instantly end every military action, especially at sea, but it made continued British prosecution of the war politically difficult. Peace negotiations led to the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which formally recognized American independence.