Introduction to the Battle

The Battle of Yorktown took place on Tuesday, October 9, 1781. The Battle occurred in Yorktown, Virginia.

On this day in 1781, General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begun the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown (Siege of Yorktown) against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War.