On what date did the British army surrender at Yorktown in the American Revolution?

The British army surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.

The surrender followed a three-week siege in Virginia led by American forces under George Washington and French forces under the Comte de Rochambeau. British commander Charles Cornwallis was trapped on the Yorktown peninsula while a French fleet prevented effective evacuation or reinforcement by sea.

American and French troops gradually built trenches and artillery positions closer to the British defenses. On the night of October 14, allied forces captured key redoubts, allowing their guns to bombard Yorktown more effectively. Cornwallis opened surrender negotiations and capitulated two days later.

Yorktown was the last major battle of the Revolutionary War, but it did not instantly create legal independence. Fighting and diplomatic negotiations continued afterward, and the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. A famous story says Cornwallis refused to attend the surrender ceremony, but he cited illness and sent Brigadier General Charles O’Hara in his place.