Battle of Yorktown (1781)

The Battle of Yorktown (1781) was a victory by a combined American and French force led by General George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau over a British army commanded by General Lord Charles Cornwallis. The surrender of Cornwallis' army caused the British government to negotiate an end to the American Revolutionary War.

Siege at Yorktown

Washington started to march towards New York City with his force of 8,800. They stationed approximately 2,500 men at the American forts near the city under Major General William Heath to fool the British into believing that Washington's entire force was still there.

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Admiral de Grasse sailed his French battle fleet of twenty-eight ships north toward Virginia. Simultaneously, on August 21,1781, Washington began moving his army south. As they marched south, Admiral de Grasse's fleet arrived at the Chesapeake Bay. De Grasse had defeated Admiral Thomas Graves' fleet in the Battle of the Chesapeake and won control of the river. Cornwallis was now stranded.

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On September 28,1781, Washington and Rochambeau, along with Lafayette's troops and 3,000 of de Grasse's men, arrived at Yorktown. In all, there were approximately 17,000 men converging on Cornwallis's camp. The city was soon surrounded and under heavy fire.

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On October 14, the Franco-American forces captured two major British redoubts. After a useless counterattack, Cornwallis offered to surrender on October 17. On the 19th of October, the papers were signed and he officially surrendered. About 7,000 British troops became prisoners.

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