Which battle marked the decisive British surrender at the end of the American Revolutionary War?

The Battle of Yorktown, also called the Siege of Yorktown, marked the decisive British surrender at the end of the American Revolutionary War.

American and French forces surrounded the British army commanded by General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, in September and October 1781. George Washington commanded the combined American and French army, while French naval forces helped prevent British reinforcement and evacuation.

After a prolonged bombardment and the capture of key defensive positions, 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, leading to the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Yorktown is sometimes described as the final battle of the Revolution, but fighting and naval operations continued afterward. Its importance lies in its decisive scale, the capture of a major British army, and the political consequences of the surrender.