The Three-Week Siege of October 1781 at Which a French Fleet, a French Army, and a Combined American-French Land Force Captured an Entire British Army and Effectively Ended the American Revolution
General Lord Cornwallis surrendered approximately 7,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, on 19 October 1781. A combined Franco-American army of approximately 17,000 under George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau had besieged the position for three weeks. The French Atlantic fleet under Admiral de Grasse had blockaded the seaward escape. The British government opened peace negotiations within months.
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