The Siege of Yorktown ended with a British surrender in 1781 and effectively ended major fighting in the war behind America250.
American and French forces trapped the British army commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. General George Washington led the allied American army, while French forces under the Comte de Rochambeau and the French fleet played essential roles.
Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. The victory did not legally end the war; peace negotiations continued until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. However, Yorktown made continued British offensive operations in North America politically and militarily difficult.
The battle is sometimes called the Battle of Yorktown, but “Siege of Yorktown” is the standard name for the wider campaign and encirclement. Saratoga was another major American victory, but it occurred earlier, in 1777.