On what date did the British army surrender at the Battle of Yorktown?

The British army surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army to the allied American and French forces commanded by George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau.

The siege took place in Virginia from September 28 to October 19, 1781. French naval forces helped prevent British relief by defeating or blocking the British fleet, while allied troops surrounded Yorktown and built siege lines closer to the town.

Cornwallis requested terms after allied artillery and assaults made the British position untenable. The surrender involved more than 7,000 British troops and effectively ended major fighting in North America, although the war did not formally conclude until the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Yorktown is sometimes called the final battle of the Revolution, but smaller military actions continued afterward. Its significance lies in the surrender’s political and military impact, which pushed Britain toward peace negotiations.