The Siege of Yorktown ended with a surrender on October 19, 1781, becoming the last major land victory of the American Revolution before America250.
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 French naval forces under the Comte de Grasse were crucial to the victory.
A French naval victory in the Chesapeake blocked British relief by sea. Allied troops then tightened their siege lines and captured key British outer defenses, leaving Cornwallis with little chance of escape or reinforcement.
The surrender did not end every military action immediately, especially at sea, but it made continued British efforts to win the war politically difficult. Peace negotiations followed and produced the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognized American independence.