Which British general surrendered at Yorktown in 1781, a turning point remembered during America250?

Charles Cornwallis was the British general whose army surrendered at Yorktown in 1781.

The Siege of Yorktown lasted from September 28 to October 19, 1781, in Virginia. American forces led by George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau surrounded Cornwallis’s army. A French naval victory in the Chesapeake Bay prevented effective British relief by sea.

Cornwallis requested surrender terms on October 17, and the formal surrender took place two days later. Cornwallis did not attend the ceremony, citing illness; Brigadier General Charles O’Hara represented him. O’Hara first offered the sword to the French commander, then Washington, who directed him to Major General Benjamin Lincoln.

Yorktown was the last major land engagement of the Revolutionary War, although fighting and diplomacy continued after the surrender. The victory greatly strengthened the American negotiating position and led eventually to the Treaty of Paris in 1783.