Which naval battle helped trap Cornwallis during the Yorktown campaign?

The Battle of the Chesapeake helped trap Cornwallis during the Yorktown campaign.

The naval battle, also called the Battle of the Capes, took place on September 5, 1781, off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. A French fleet commanded by the Comte de Grasse fought a British fleet led by Sir Thomas Graves. The French gained control of the bay after the engagement.

That control prevented the British from using naval power to evacuate or reinforce Lord Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown. Washington and Rochambeau’s land forces were able to maintain the siege while the French fleet blocked the sea route. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781.

The battle was not a complete tactical destruction of the British fleet, and neither side lost a ship. Its strategic result was nevertheless decisive. By denying British command of the Chesapeake, the French navy made the Yorktown siege possible and helped turn a land campaign into the final major victory of the Revolutionary War.