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The surrender of Lord Cornwallis, October 19, 1781, at Yorktown. The British had asked for the traditional honors of war, which would allow the army to march out with flags flying, bayonets fixed, and the band playing an American or French tune as a tribute to the victors.
By December 1780, the American Revolutionary War's North American theatres had reached a critical point. The Continental Army had suffered major defeats earlier in the year, with its southern armies either captured or dispersed in the loss of Charleston and the Battle of Camden in the south, while the armies of George Washington and the British commander-in-chief for North America, Sir Henry ...
Within weeks General Washington had deployed a much larger army, and his artillery bombarded the British positions in early October. After American and French troops overran two British strongholds, Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. [2] In the center of the scene, American General Benjamin Lincoln appears mounted on a white horse.
The siege was a decisive Franco-American victory: after the surrender of British Lt. Gen. Charles, Earl Cornwallis on October 17, the government of Lord North fell, and its replacement entered into peace negotiations that resulted in British recognition of American independence with the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
The culminating engagement, the siege of Yorktown, ended with the surrender of British Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis on October 19, 1781. It was essentially the last major battle of the Revolutionary War. [3] [4] Shortly afterward, negotiations between the United States and Great Britain began, resulting in the Treaty of Paris of 1783.
Washington initially hoped to bring the fight to New York, drawing the British forces away from Virginia and ending the war there, but Rochambeau advised him that Cornwallis in Virginia was the better target. [136] On August 19, 1781, Washington and Rochambeau began a march to Yorktown, Virginia, known now as the "celebrated march". [137]
September 28-October 19, 1781: Virginia: Franco-American victory: Cornwallis surrenders his entire force of over 7,000; escape blocked by the French navy. Last major land battle of the war. Battle of Fort Slongo: October 3, 1781: New York: American victory Battle of Raft Swamp: October 15, 1781: North Carolina: American victory Battle of ...
3 February – American Revolutionary War and Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: The Dutch Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius (which has been supplying the United States) surrenders to Admiral Rodney. [2] 13 March: Uranus discovered [image in false colour]. 28 February – foundation of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. [4]