The Siege of Yorktown ended major fighting in the American Revolution in Virginia in 1781.
American and French forces surrounded the British army commanded by General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown. George Washington led the Continental Army, while French troops under the Comte de Rochambeau joined the campaign. French naval forces also blocked British relief by defeating a British fleet near the Chesapeake Bay.
The siege began in September 1781. Allied artillery gradually weakened the British defenses, and American troops captured key positions during the night of October 14. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781, effectively ending major combat in the war.
The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 and formally recognized the independence of the United States. Yorktown was therefore not the legal end of the war, but it was the decisive military victory that made a negotiated settlement possible. Its importance remains central to the story commemorated by America250.