Charles Cornwallis was the British general who surrendered at Yorktown in 1781, ending major combat in the American Revolutionary War.
Cornwallis commanded the British army at Yorktown, Virginia, where American forces led by George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau surrounded his position. The French fleet's victory in the Battle of the Chesapeake prevented a reliable British evacuation or resupply by sea.
Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. He did not personally attend the formal ceremony, citing illness; Brigadier General Charles O'Hara presented the sword on his behalf. The surrender was a decisive military defeat, although the war formally continued until the peace settlement.
Cornwallis is sometimes confused with John Burgoyne, who surrendered at Saratoga in 1777. The Yorktown victory led to negotiations that produced the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognized American independence.