The Siege of Yorktown ended with the British surrender on October 19, 1781.
American and French forces had surrounded the British army commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. French naval control of the Chesapeake Bay prevented effective British relief, while allied artillery and infantry steadily tightened the siege.
Cornwallis requested surrender terms on October 17. Negotiations followed at the Moore House, and the articles of capitulation were signed two days later. Cornwallis did not attend the ceremony, reportedly citing illness; Brigadier General Charles O'Hara represented him, and Major General Benjamin Lincoln accepted the British sword on behalf of the American side.
Yorktown was the final major land engagement of the Revolutionary War, although fighting at sea continued. The surrender led to peace negotiations and the Treaty of Paris in 1783. It is sometimes described as the war's end, but the treaty—not the battlefield surrender—formally ended the conflict.