The Siege of Yorktown forced a British army’s surrender in 1781 during the American Revolutionary War commemorated by America250.
American and French forces surrounded Yorktown, Virginia, where British General Charles Cornwallis had positioned his army. General George Washington commanded the American troops, while the French army was led by the Comte de Rochambeau. French naval forces under the Comte de Grasse helped prevent British relief by controlling the Chesapeake Bay.
The siege began in late September 1781. After sustained bombardment and the capture of key British defensive positions, Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. The event did not legally end the war, but it effectively ended major fighting and made American victory likely.
The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, formally recognized United States independence. Yorktown is sometimes confused with Saratoga, another crucial American victory; Saratoga helped bring France into the war, while Yorktown delivered the decisive late-war blow.