Which battle is widely regarded as the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War?

The Battle of Yorktown, also called the Siege of Yorktown, is widely regarded as the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War.

American and French forces trapped the British army commanded by General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. General George Washington commanded the allied American army, while the French fleet helped prevent British evacuation or effective reinforcement by sea.

Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. The victory did not instantly end every military operation, and fighting and negotiations continued afterward. However, the surrender destroyed British political support for continuing a large-scale war in North America and led toward the peace negotiations that produced the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Yorktown is sometimes confused with Saratoga, another decisive American victory in 1777. Saratoga helped persuade France to enter the war as an American ally, while Yorktown directly produced the final major British field surrender.