On what date did the Siege of Yorktown end, a decisive 1781 American Revolutionary War victory?

The Siege of Yorktown ended on October 19, 1781, when British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to the allied American and French forces.

The campaign took place at Yorktown, Virginia, where Cornwallis had established a defensive position beside the York River. George Washington commanded the Continental Army, while French troops under the Comte de Rochambeau and a French fleet helped trap the British army.

American and French forces gradually surrounded Yorktown and built siege lines close to the British defenses. The capture of key redoubts on October 14 weakened Cornwallis's position and made further resistance increasingly difficult.

The surrender did not formally end the war, but it effectively destroyed Britain's ability to continue major land operations in North America. Peace negotiations followed, producing the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Yorktown is therefore remembered as the decisive military victory of the American Revolution.