On what date were the articles of surrender at the Siege of Yorktown signed?

The articles of surrender at the Siege of Yorktown were signed on October 19, 1781.

The siege began in late September when American and French forces surrounded the British army commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis in Yorktown, Virginia. French naval control of the Chesapeake Bay prevented effective British relief, while allied artillery steadily damaged the British defenses.

Cornwallis requested capitulation terms on October 17. Negotiations followed at the Moore House, and the formal surrender ceremony took place two days later. Cornwallis did not attend, claiming illness; Brigadier General Charles O’Hara represented the British army and Major General Benjamin Lincoln accepted the sword on behalf of the allies.

Yorktown was the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War, but fighting at sea continued. The surrender led to peace negotiations and ultimately the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The date is therefore a military milestone, not the date when the war legally ended.