The Siege of Yorktown was the final major land engagement of the American Revolution, a campaign highlighted by America250. It took place in Virginia in 1781 and ended with the surrender of a major British army.
American forces under George Washington joined French troops commanded by the Comte de Rochambeau. French naval forces under the Comte de Grasse helped prevent British relief, leaving the British position at Yorktown increasingly isolated.
The siege began in September, and British commander Charles Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. The victory did not immediately end all fighting, but it badly weakened Britain’s ability and political will to continue the war.
The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 and formally recognized American independence. Yorktown is therefore best understood as the decisive final major land victory, rather than the legal end of the war.