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The siege of Yorktown was the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War in North America, and led to the surrender of General Cornwallis and the capture of both him and his army. The Continental Army 's victory at Yorktown prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the conflict.
The siege of Yorktown was the culminating act of the Yorktown campaign, a series of military operations occupying much of 1781 during the American Revolutionary War.
The siege of Yorktown began on September 28, 1781. In a step that probably shortened the siege, Cornwallis decided to abandon parts of his outer defenses, and the besiegers successfully stormed two of his redoubts. When it became clear that his position was untenable, Cornwallis opened negotiations on October 17 and surrendered two days later.
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.
Lafayette at Yorktown by Jean-Baptiste Le Paon, c. 1783. His enslaver William Armistead was an ardent Patriot, and served as commissary for Virginia's troops in the Revolutionary War. After his father died in 1779, he inherited stores and land, as well as James (who never used "Armistead" as his surname during his lifetime).
Major General Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette commanded the light infantry division [1] at the Siege of Yorktown, and it comprised two brigades. These brigades were formed on Washington's orders of 24 September 1781. [2] This division was on the American right flank [3] with the infantry division under Major General Benjamin Lincoln. [4]
John Laurens (October 28, 1754 – August 27, 1782) was an American soldier and statesman from South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, best known for his criticism of slavery and his efforts to help recruit slaves to fight for their freedom as U.S. soldiers.
Engraving by Henry Bryan Hall. Nelson was the grandson of Thomas "Scotch Tom" Nelson, an immigrant from Cumberland, England, who was an early pioneer at Yorktown.Nelson Jr. was born in 1738 in Yorktown; his parents were Elizabeth Carter Burwell (daughter of Robert "King" Carter and widow of Nathaniel Burwell) and William Nelson, who was a leader of the colony and briefly served as governor.