The Siege of Yorktown was the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War highlighted by America250.
The siege took place in Virginia from September 28 to October 19, 1781. American and French forces commanded by George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau surrounded the British army led by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. French naval forces under the Comte de Grasse helped prevent British relief by controlling access to the Chesapeake Bay.
Cornwallis surrendered after the allies captured key defensive positions and tightened their artillery lines. More than 7,000 British soldiers were taken prisoner. Yorktown did not immediately produce a signed peace treaty, but it made continued British offensive operations in North America increasingly difficult and led to negotiations that culminated in the Treaty of Paris in 1783.