On what date were the articles of surrender signed at Yorktown in 1781?

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

The Siege of Yorktown was the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War. American forces commanded by George Washington joined French troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau, while French naval forces helped prevent British relief by sea.

The allied army surrounded the British position at Yorktown, Virginia, commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. After weeks of trench warfare and bombardment, Cornwallis’s position became untenable. His surrender effectively ended major fighting, although the war did not formally conclude for another two years.

Washington, Rochambeau, and Cornwallis were among those associated with the capitulation documents. The British defeat strengthened the case for peace negotiations, which produced the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Yorktown is therefore remembered as a decisive turning point on the path to American independence.