American Revolution: Yorktown & Victory

We complete our look at the American Revolution with an examination of the Battle of Yorktown (right) and the peace negotiations that followed. While much of the fighting during the war took place in the East, small units, such as those led by George Rogers Clark, made significant impacts on the frontier. Following the Battle of Guilford Court House, Major General Lord Charles Cornwallis moved into Virginia and began a series of raids around the colony. Ordered to proceed to a port for transport to New York, Cornwallis became trapped at Yorktown. Besieged by General George Washington, Cornwallis was forced to surrender on October 17, 1781. The American victory effectively ended the war and peace negotiations produced a draft treaty the following year. Signed in 1783, the Treaty of Paris formally recognized the independence of the United States of America.

Photograph Courtesy of the US Government