The Siege of Yorktown was the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War celebrated in America250 history.
The siege took place in Virginia from September 28 to October 19, 1781. American and French forces surrounded the British army commanded by General Charles Cornwallis. French naval power blocked assistance by sea, while allied artillery and trenches steadily tightened the position around Yorktown.
Cornwallis surrendered on October 19. He did not attend the ceremony, claiming illness; Charles O’Hara represented him and formally offered the sword to American General Benjamin Lincoln after Washington and the French commander Rochambeau declined to accept it personally.
Yorktown did not instantly stop every military operation. Fighting continued elsewhere, especially at sea, and peace negotiations followed. However, the surrender destroyed Britain’s practical chance of winning the war in North America and led to the Treaty of Paris in 1783.