Which 1781 battle ended in a major British surrender during the American Revolutionary War?

The Battle of Yorktown ended in a major British surrender during the American Revolutionary War.

The Yorktown campaign culminated on October 19, 1781, when British Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army to the allied American and French forces. George Washington commanded the Continental Army, and French troops and naval power played a crucial role in trapping the British position.

Yorktown was not the formal end of the war. Fighting and negotiations continued, and the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. However, the surrender severely weakened British political support for continuing the conflict and became the war’s decisive military turning point.

The event is often called the Siege of Yorktown because allied forces surrounded and bombarded the British defenses before the capitulation. The term Battle of Yorktown is also commonly used for the climactic fighting and surrender.