Which 1781 battle ended with British General Cornwallis surrendering to American and French forces?

The Battle of Yorktown ended with British General Charles Cornwallis surrendering to American and French forces in 1781.

The decisive operation is often called the Siege of Yorktown because allied troops surrounded the British position in Yorktown, Virginia. George Washington commanded the American army, while French forces under the Comte de Rochambeau joined the campaign.

French naval power was also crucial. The French victory at the Battle of the Chesapeake prevented a British fleet from relieving Cornwallis. Allied artillery then tightened the siege, and Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781.

Yorktown did not formally end the American Revolutionary War, but it caused major political shock in Britain and led to peace negotiations. The war officially concluded with the Treaty of Paris signed in 1783. Saratoga, Bunker Hill, and Trenton were important earlier battles but did not produce Cornwallis’s surrender.