Yorktown hosted the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War. The Siege of Yorktown took place in Virginia from September 28 to October 19, 1781.
American and French forces surrounded the British army commanded by Charles Cornwallis. French naval power helped block the Chesapeake Bay, preventing effective British relief or escape, while allied troops built siege lines and bombarded the defenses.
Cornwallis’s army surrendered on October 19, 1781. The victory did not instantly end every military operation, but it made continued British offensive warfare in North America politically and strategically difficult.
Peace negotiations followed, leading to the Treaty of Paris in 1783. That treaty formally recognized United States independence. Yorktown is therefore remembered as the decisive military climax of the Revolution, even though the war’s diplomatic conclusion came later.