Which 1781 siege is widely regarded as the decisive victory of the American Revolutionary War?

The Siege of Yorktown is widely regarded as the decisive victory of the American Revolutionary War.

The siege took place in Virginia from September 28 to October 19, 1781. American forces commanded by George Washington joined French troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau, while French naval forces helped prevent a British evacuation or reinforcement by sea. British forces at Yorktown were commanded by General Charles Cornwallis.

The allied army surrounded the British position and built successive siege lines closer to the defenses. After artillery bombardment and attacks on key redoubts, Cornwallis surrendered his army on October 19. The surrender did not instantly end every military operation, but it made continued British prosecution of the war politically difficult.

Peace negotiations followed and produced the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Yorktown is therefore remembered as the war’s decisive battlefield result, while the treaty supplied the legal and diplomatic recognition of American independence.