Key Facts
- Date of surrender
- October 19, 1781
- British soldiers captured
- More than 7,000
- Key redoubts stormed
- Redoubt No. 9 and Redoubt No. 10
- Total casualties (DB)
- 397
- Peace treaty
- Treaty of Paris, 1783
Strategic Narrative Overview
De Grasse sailed to Chesapeake Bay and defeated a British relief fleet under Admiral Graves at the Battle of the Chesapeake in early September 1781, cutting off Cornwallis by sea. Washington and Rochambeau arrived at Yorktown on September 28 and encircled the British defenses. Allied forces built siege parallels and bombarded British positions. On October 14, Hamilton's and Deux-Ponts's columns stormed the final outer redoubts, allowing completion of the second parallel and intensifying the bombardment.
01 / The Origins
By 1781, the American Revolutionary War had been ongoing for six years. British Lieutenant General Cornwallis commanded a British army in Virginia, ordered by his superior Henry Clinton to establish a defensible deep-water port at Yorktown. Meanwhile, French and American forces under Washington and Rochambeau were united north of New York City, debating whether to strike New York or Virginia, ultimately choosing Virginia after the French West Indies fleet under de Grasse offered support.
03 / The Outcome
With his position untenable, Cornwallis requested capitulation terms on October 17, 1781. After two days of negotiation, the formal surrender ceremony took place on October 19; Cornwallis himself did not attend. Over 7,000 British troops were captured. The defeat prompted Great Britain to enter peace negotiations with the United States, culminating in the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognized American independence.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
George Washington, Comte de Rochambeau, Comte de Grasse, Marquis de Lafayette, Alexander Hamilton.
Side B
1 belligerent
Charles Cornwallis.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.