Siege of Yorktown 1781
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1781 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | 2nd Canadian Regiment, Kingdom of France, Kingdom of Great Britain, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Loyalist, Principality of Ansbach, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 37.2308, -76.5025 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, took place in 1781 and was the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Marquis de Lafayette and French Army troops, led by Comte de Rochambeau, and a French Navy force commanded by the Comte de Grasse, defeating the British Army commanded by British Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis.
The French and American armies united north of New York City in the summer of 1781. Following the arrival of dispatches from France that included the possibility of support from the French West Indies fleet of the Comte de Grasse, disagreements arose between Washington and Rochambeau on whether to ask de Grasse for assistance in besieging New York or in military operations against a British army in Virginia. On the advice of Rochambeau, de Grasse informed them of his intent to sail to the Chesapeake Bay, where Cornwallis had taken command of the British army. Cornwallis, at first given confusing orders by his superior officer, Henry Clinton, was eventually ordered to build a defensible deep-water port, which he began to do at Yorktown.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Yorktown (revision 1380796016), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Gloucester Point (1861) 1861 · 4 km
- Siege of Yorktown (1862) 1862 · 6 km
- Peninsula campaign 1862 · 10 km
- Battle of Williamsburg 1862 · 15 km
- Battle of Big Bethel 1861 · 17 km
- Skirmish at Cedar Lane · 21 km
Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
- Battle of Tearcoat Swamp 1780
- Battle of Wahab's Plantation 1780
- Battle of Waxhaws 1780
- Battle of Young's House 1780
- Siege of Charleston 1780
- Action of 21 July 1781 1781
- Battle of Blandford 1781
- Battle of Cape Henry 1781
- Battle of Cowan's Ford 1781
- Battle of Cowpens 1781
All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
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