The Battle of Yorktown, also called the Siege of Yorktown, is generally regarded as the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War. The American and French victory in 1781 led to the surrender of British forces under General Charles Cornwallis.
George Washington commanded the allied American and French army, while French naval power helped prevent British relief. The campaign concentrated around Yorktown, Virginia, where Cornwallis’s army became trapped on the York River peninsula.
Yorktown did not immediately end every military operation. Fighting and negotiations continued, and the formal peace settlement came with the Treaty of Paris in 1783. However, the surrender severely weakened British political support for continuing the war and effectively ended major combat in North America.
Yorktown is often confused with Saratoga, which was a crucial American victory in 1777 that helped secure French support. Bunker Hill was an early 1775 battle, and Trenton was Washington’s important 1776 crossing and victory in New Jersey.