On what date did the British garrison surrender at the Siege of Yorktown?

The British garrison surrendered at the Siege of Yorktown on October 19, 1781.

American forces under George Washington and French forces under the Comte de Rochambeau surrounded the British position commanded by General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. The allied army and navy cut off escape and supply routes, while siege lines and artillery steadily tightened around the British defenses.

Cornwallis opened negotiations after the allied forces captured key outer redoubts. He formally surrendered on October 19, although he claimed illness and sent Brigadier General Charles O’Hara to deliver the sword. The British garrison marched to Surrender Field, where the articles of capitulation were signed.

Yorktown was the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War and led directly to serious peace negotiations. It did not itself legally end the war: the Treaty of Paris was signed nearly two years later, on September 3, 1783, recognizing American independence.