Which 1781 naval battle gave Franco-American forces control of Chesapeake Bay before Yorktown, a key America250 event?

The Battle of the Chesapeake gave Franco-American forces control of Chesapeake Bay before Yorktown in 1781.

Also called the Battle of the Chesapeake Capes or the Battle of the Virginia Capes, the naval engagement took place on September 5, 1781. A French fleet commanded by the Comte de Grasse fought a British fleet led by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves.

The battle was tactically inconclusive, but its strategic effect was decisive. The British fleet failed to break the French control of the bay, leaving Lord Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown without effective naval relief or escape. French ships also supported the movement and supply of the allied siege forces.

The victory helped create the conditions for the Yorktown surrender in October 1781, the final major land campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It is often confused with later Chesapeake Bay battles, including the 1813 Battle of Craney Island during the War of 1812. The 1781 battle involved fleets from France and Great Britain.