1781 American Revolutionary War battle
This article is about the battle during the American Revolutionary War. For the battle during the American Civil War, see
Siege of Yorktown (1862).
Siege of Yorktown |
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Part of the Yorktown campaign of the American Revolutionary War |
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Surrender_of_Lord_Cornwallis.jpg/220px-Surrender_of_Lord_Cornwallis.jpg) Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, an 1820 portrait by John Trumbull depicting the British surrendering to Benjamin Lincoln flanked by French (left) and Continental Army troops |
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Belligerents |
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United States
France |
Great Britain
Hesse-Kassel[a]
Ansbach-Bayreuth |
Commanders and leaders |
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George Washington
Benjamin Lincoln
Henry Knox
Alexander Hamilton
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
Thomas Nelson
Moses Hazen
Henry Dearborn
Marquis de Lafayette
Comte de Rochambeau
Comte d'Aboville
Marquis de Choisy
Comte de Grasse
Comté de Deux-Ponts |
Charles Cornwallis ![Surrendered](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/White_flag_icon.svg/14px-White_flag_icon.svg.png)
Charles O'Hara ![Surrendered](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/White_flag_icon.svg/14px-White_flag_icon.svg.png)
Banastre Tarleton ![Surrendered](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/White_flag_icon.svg/14px-White_flag_icon.svg.png)
Robert Abercromby ![Surrendered](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/White_flag_icon.svg/14px-White_flag_icon.svg.png)
Thomas Dundas ![Surrendered](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/White_flag_icon.svg/14px-White_flag_icon.svg.png)
Thomas Symonds ![Surrendered](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/White_flag_icon.svg/14px-White_flag_icon.svg.png)
Matthias von Fuchs ![Surrendered](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/White_flag_icon.svg/14px-White_flag_icon.svg.png)
August Voit von Salzburg ![Surrendered](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/White_flag_icon.svg/14px-White_flag_icon.svg.png)
Johann von Seybothen ![Surrendered](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/White_flag_icon.svg/14px-White_flag_icon.svg.png) |
Strength |
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Americans: 8,000–9,000 men[1]
- 5,900 regular troops
- 3,100 militia (not engaged)[1][2]
French: 10,800 men[1] and 29 warships[2]
Total: 19,800 (fewer engaged) |
British: 5,000[3]
German: Fewer than 3,000
Total: 8-9,000[1][4] |
Casualties and losses |
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88 killed 301 wounded[5] |
142–309 killed 326–595 wounded prisoners 7,416–7,685 captured[6] |
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The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, began September 28, 1781, and ended on October 19, 1781, at exactly 10:30 am in Yorktown, Virginia. It was a decisive victory by a combined force of the American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington with support from the Marquis de Lafayette and French Army troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau and a French naval force commanded by the Comte de Grasse over the British Army commanded by British Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis.
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.[b]
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