The Siege of Yorktown led to the British surrender that ended major fighting before America’s 250th anniversary.
The siege took place in Virginia from September 28 to October 19, 1781. American forces commanded by George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau surrounded the British army under Lord Cornwallis.
French naval power helped prevent British relief by defeating a British fleet near the Chesapeake Bay. Allied troops then captured key defensive positions and completed a siege of the British works around Yorktown. Cornwallis surrendered his army on October 19.
The surrender did not legally end the war; peace negotiations continued until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. Yorktown is nevertheless regarded as the decisive military campaign because Britain’s defeat made continued large-scale operations politically and strategically difficult.