The Siege of Yorktown forced the British surrender that ended major fighting in the American Revolutionary War.
American and French forces surrounded the British army commanded by General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, in September and October 1781. George Washington commanded the combined American force, while French troops and naval power provided crucial support.
French control of Chesapeake Bay prevented a reliable British evacuation or resupply. Allied troops gradually built parallel siege lines and bombarded British positions. On October 19, Cornwallis surrendered his army to Washington and the French commander Rochambeau.
The surrender did not immediately end the war. Peace negotiations continued, and the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. Yorktown is therefore best described as the decisive final campaign or the event that ended major combat, rather than the formal legal end of the conflict.