The Siege of Yorktown was the 1781 final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War.
American and French forces surrounded the British army commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. George Washington led the Continental Army, while French troops under the Comte de Rochambeau and a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse provided crucial support.
The siege lasted from September 28 to October 19, 1781. French naval control of the Chesapeake Bay prevented effective British relief, while allied artillery and infantry steadily tightened the position. Cornwallis’s army surrendered after negotiations, with more than 7,000 British and German troops becoming prisoners.
Yorktown did not instantly end every military action: fighting continued at sea and in scattered areas. However, the surrender prompted peace negotiations that culminated in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, in which Britain recognized American independence.