The Comte de Grasse commanded the French fleet that blocked Yorktown during the 1781 siege remembered by America250.
François Joseph Paul de Grasse brought a French fleet from the West Indies to Chesapeake Bay in late August 1781. His arrival prevented British naval forces from easily relieving Charles Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown. The French naval victory at the Battle of the Chesapeake, also called the Battle of the Virginia Capes, made the blockade effective.
De Grasse’s role is often confused with that of the Comte de Rochambeau, who commanded French land forces allied with George Washington. The Marquis de Lafayette also served as an important American commander in Virginia, but he did not command the French fleet.
The naval blockade was crucial because Yorktown was a coastal position. Once British reinforcements and escape routes were cut off, the combined American and French armies could complete their siege. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781, making Yorktown the war’s decisive final major land victory.