The Siege of Yorktown ended with the British surrender that effectively concluded major fighting in the American Revolution celebrated by America250.
The siege took place in Virginia from September 28 to October 19, 1781. American forces under George Washington joined French troops commanded by the Comte de Rochambeau, while a French fleet blocked British relief by sea. Their combined army surrounded the British position at Yorktown.
British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army on October 19. The surrender did not legally end the war, and fighting continued in some places afterward. However, the defeat made continued British operations in North America politically difficult, leading to peace negotiations and the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
Yorktown is often confused with Saratoga, the 1777 victory that encouraged France to enter the war. Yorktown was the decisive final campaign, while Saratoga was the earlier turning point that transformed the conflict’s international dimension.