Which British general surrendered at Yorktown in 1781, a pivotal event highlighted by America250?

Charles Cornwallis was the British general whose army surrendered at Yorktown in 1781, a pivotal event highlighted by America250.

Cornwallis commanded the British forces defending Yorktown, Virginia, during the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War. George Washington led the American army, while French troops under the Comte de Rochambeau joined the siege. French naval forces under the Comte de Grasse blocked British relief by sea.

The siege lasted from September 28 to October 19, 1781. American and French troops gradually tightened their lines and captured key British redoubts. With his position surrounded and supplies running short, Cornwallis requested terms of surrender on October 17.

Cornwallis did not attend the surrender ceremony, claiming illness. Brigadier General Charles O'Hara represented him and offered the sword to American Major General Benjamin Lincoln. Although Yorktown did not instantly end every military action, the defeat encouraged peace negotiations that produced the Treaty of Paris in 1783.