Which 1781 battle is widely regarded as the decisive final major victory of the American Revolution?

The Battle of Yorktown, also called the Siege of Yorktown, was the decisive final major victory of the American Revolution.

American and French forces trapped the British army commanded by General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. General George Washington led the allied American army, while French naval power helped prevent British relief by sea. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781.

The surrender did not legally end the war immediately, and smaller military actions continued afterward. However, the defeat made Britain less willing to continue a costly conflict and encouraged peace negotiations. The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, formally ended the war and recognized American independence.

Yorktown is sometimes confused with Saratoga, the major American victory of 1777 that helped persuade France to enter the war as an ally. Trenton and Cowpens were also important American victories, but neither produced the same decisive strategic collapse as Yorktown.