The Battle of Yorktown

1781

In the fall of 1781, a combined American force of colonial and French troops laid siege to the British Army at Yorktown, Virginia Led by George Washington, and French General Comte de Rochambeau, they began their final attack, on October 14, capturing two British defenses and leading to the surrender, just days later, of British General lord Cornwallis and nearby 9,000 troops. Yorktown proved the final battle of the American Revolution, and the Americans won. The significance of the conflict was that Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington as French and American forces trapped the British at Yorktown. It was important because the British surrendered, and the battle of Yorktown ended the Revolutionary War. The Americans win independence!