Answer:
The Siege of Yorktown in 1781 was a victory for an American-French force led by General George Washington over the British army led by General Charles Cornwallis. The surrender of Cornwallis' army prompted the British government to negotiate a peace deal in the Revolutionary War.
By sea, Admiral de Grasse sailed with his French battalion on 28 ships toward Virginia. At the same time, on August 21, Washington began moving its army south. While marching, Admiral de Grasse's fleet arrived at Chesapeake Bay. De Grasse defeated Admiral Thomas Graves' fleet at the Battle of Chesapeake and gained control of the bay. Cornwallis was now stranded.
Washington and Rochambeau, along with Lafayette's forces and 3,000 of de Grasse's men, arrived in Yorktown on September 28. In all, 17,000 men approached Cornwallis' camp. The city was soon surrounded and under heavy shelling. On October 14, French-American forces took two significant British forts. After a failed counterattack, Cornwallis offered surrender on October 17. Two days later, the papers were signed and he officially surrendered.
