Yorktown, Siege

Yorktown, Siege of

(1781) American-French land and sea campaign against the British that virtually ended the American Revolution. About 7,500 British troops under Charles Cornwallis occupied defensive positions at the coastal port of Yorktown, Va., on Aug. 1, 1781. They were opposed by a smaller American force under the marquis de Lafayette, assisted by Anthony Wayne and Frederick Steuben. From New York, George Washington ordered Lafayette to prevent Cornwallis's escape by land. French troops under the count de Rochambeau joined Washington's forces and marched south. Linking up with a French fleet at the head of Chesapeake Bay, they joined Lafayette's forces on September 28, and the 14,000 troops besieged the British position. Cornwallis waited for British reinforcements under Henry Clinton to arrive by sea; but now outnumbered, outgunned, and running low on food, he surrendered his 8,000 men and 240 guns on October 19. The siege ended fighting in the war and virtually guaranteed success to the American cause.