Siege of Yorktown
Gloucester and Yorktown, Virginia
What happened
George Washington and the French general Comte de Rochambeau, with the Marquis de Lafayette and the French fleet of the Comte de Grasse, besieged the British army of General Charles Cornwallis. When a French fleet sailed for Chesapeake Bay, Washington and Rochambeau marched their armies south to trap Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. The French fleet beat a British fleet sent to rescue him, so he could not escape by sea. The allies dug trenches closer and closer, captured two key British forts on October 14, and five days later Cornwallis's army surrendered.
Why it matters
Result: Franco-American victory. Leaders: George Washington / Benjamin Lincoln against Charles Cornwallis / Charles O'Hara. Why it matters: The surrender of Cornwallis's army led Britain to begin peace talks. It led to British recognition of American independence.
What came next
Peace talks led to the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which ended the war. Six months after Yorktown, the British defeated de Grasse's fleet in the Caribbean at the Battle of the Saintes.
Did you know?
Cornwallis did not lead his army onto the field at the surrender. Brigadier General Charles O'Hara led it instead.
Timeline
- September 5, 1781De Grasse's French fleet defeats the British at the Battle of the Chesapeake.
- September 28, 1781The siege of Yorktown begins.
- October 14, 1781American and French troops capture the last major British outer works.
- October 19, 1781Cornwallis's army surrenders.
- 1783The Treaty of Paris ends the war.