Which battle's 1781 surrender effectively ended major fighting in the American Revolutionary War?

The Siege of Yorktown's 1781 surrender effectively ended major fighting in the American Revolutionary War.

American and French forces surrounded the British army commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. George Washington led the Continental Army, while French troops under the Comte de Rochambeau and a French fleet helped close the British escape routes.

After weeks of siege operations, Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. The victory did not legally end the war immediately, and smaller military actions continued. However, British political support for continuing the conflict collapsed, leading to peace negotiations.

The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 and formally recognized American independence. Yorktown is therefore often described as the decisive final campaign or the event that ended major combat, rather than as the legal conclusion of the war itself.