Which 1781 battle ended with Lord Cornwallis surrendering to George Washington?

The Battle of Yorktown ended with Lord Cornwallis surrendering to George Washington in 1781.

The decisive American victory took place in Virginia after allied American and French forces surrounded the British army at Yorktown. Washington commanded the combined American forces, while the French fleet blocked British relief by sea. Cornwallis formally surrendered on October 19, 1781.

Yorktown did not immediately end every military operation, but it destroyed Britain's ability to continue the war effectively in North America. Peace negotiations followed, eventually producing the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The victory also demonstrated the importance of cooperation between American land forces and France's navy and army.

Yorktown is sometimes confused with Saratoga, the 1777 American victory that helped secure French support, or Trenton, Washington's 1776 victory over Hessian troops. Yorktown was the later campaign associated with Cornwallis's surrender.