On what date did the Siege of Yorktown end with the British surrender?

The Siege of Yorktown ended with the British surrender on October 19, 1781.

American and French forces had surrounded Yorktown, Virginia, under the leadership of George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau. French naval forces under the Comte de Grasse blocked British escape and prevented effective relief by sea.

British commander Charles Cornwallis requested capitulation terms on October 17. The surrender ceremony took place two days later, after negotiations at the Moore House. Cornwallis did not attend, claiming illness; Brigadier General Charles O’Hara represented him.

Yorktown was the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War. The victory forced Britain into peace negotiations, although fighting continued elsewhere. The eventual Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, formally recognized American independence.