Which battle in October 1781 marked the last major military campaign of the American Revolutionary War?

The Battle of Yorktown, fought in October 1781, marked the last major military campaign of the American Revolutionary War.

American and French forces surrounded the British army commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. General George Washington led the Continental Army, while French troops under the Comte de Rochambeau joined the operation. French naval forces helped prevent British evacuation or reinforcement.

Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. The victory did not instantly end every military action, but it made continued British prosecution of the war politically difficult. Peace negotiations followed, eventually producing the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Yorktown is sometimes called a siege rather than simply a battle because the campaign included encirclement, artillery bombardment, trenches, and a naval blockade. Its outcome became the decisive military turning point that led to recognized American independence.