Which 1781 American Revolutionary War engagement forced British General Cornwallis to surrender?

The Siege of Yorktown forced British General Charles Cornwallis to surrender in 1781.

American and French forces surrounded Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown, Virginia, from September 28 to October 19, 1781. George Washington commanded the American army, while French troops under the Comte de Rochambeau provided essential support. A French naval victory near the Chesapeake Bay blocked British relief by sea.

The allied army gradually tightened its lines and captured key positions, making the British position untenable. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781, with more than 7,000 British and German troops becoming prisoners. The event was a decisive Franco-American victory.

Yorktown did not immediately produce a peace treaty, and fighting continued elsewhere. However, it was the last major land engagement of the Revolutionary War. Britain formally recognized American independence in the Treaty of Paris signed in 1783.