Which French commander led the French expeditionary force that joined Washington at Yorktown in 1781?

The French commander who led the expeditionary force that joined George Washington at Yorktown in 1781 was the Comte de Rochambeau.

Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, commanded the French army sent to North America in 1780 to support the United States. His troops cooperated with Washington’s Continental Army, first operating in the northeastern states before moving south in 1781.

Rochambeau and Washington coordinated the rapid march toward Virginia, where British forces under Charles Cornwallis were concentrated at Yorktown. French naval operations under the Comte de Grasse helped prevent British relief by sea, while the combined American and French armies surrounded the British position.

Rochambeau is often confused with two other French figures connected to Yorktown. The Marquis de Lafayette commanded American forces in Virginia, while the Comte de Grasse commanded the French fleet in the Chesapeake Bay. Rochambeau was the senior French army commander on the ground, making his role distinct in the campaign that produced the British surrender.