Comte de Grasse defeated the British fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781.
The battle, also called the Battle of the Virginia Capes, took place on September 5, 1781. The French fleet commanded by the Comte de Grasse fought a British fleet led by Sir Thomas Graves near the entrance to Chesapeake Bay.
Although the battle was not a complete destruction of the British fleet, the French victory had major strategic consequences. De Grasse’s fleet maintained control of the bay, preventing the British from relieving Lord Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown. French ships also supported the allied siege by helping block escape and reinforcement routes.
The commander is sometimes confused with the Comte de Rochambeau, who led French land forces alongside Washington, or with the Marquis de Lafayette, an American general of French noble birth. De Grasse’s naval victory was a crucial part of the chain of events leading to the Yorktown surrender.