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Major Events During the Battle
October 16–19, 1781
September 5, 1781
August 1–2, 1781
General Cornwallis and his army encamped at Yorktown and across the York River at Gloucester Point. Lafayette's spies overheard Cornwallis's plans to use the port as a base of supply and Lafayette relayed word to General George Washington in New York.
The French fleet under General Admiral de Grasse defeated a British fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves in the Battle of the Capes, leaving the British army isolated and without a prospect of reinforcement at Yorktown.
General Cornwallis realized that reinforcements would not reach him in time. He decided to escape from Yorktown, but a sudden storm ruined evacuation attempts. British troops under Cornwallis surrendered to Washington’s combined American and French forces, effectively ending major military operations in the American Revolution.