British general Charles Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in 1781 after the decisive final campaign of the American Revolutionary War.
The Siege of Yorktown took place in Virginia from September 28 to October 19, 1781. American forces commanded by George Washington joined French troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau, while a French fleet blocked British naval relief. Cornwallis’s army became trapped on the York River peninsula.
American and French troops gradually tightened the siege by building trenches and capturing key defensive positions. After a failed attempt to escape across the river, Cornwallis requested terms. His troops formally surrendered on October 19, although Cornwallis did not personally attend the ceremony; Brigadier General Charles O’Hara represented him.
Yorktown did not legally end the war, but it destroyed British political support for continuing large-scale operations in North America. Peace negotiations followed, leading to the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Cornwallis later held senior posts in India and Ireland.