The Battle of Yorktown was the conclusive victory in the Revolutionary War.
Explanation:
The Siege of Yorktown was a battle that occurred from September 28 to October 17, 1781 during the Revolutionary War in the town of Yorktown, Virginia. It ended with the capitulation of the British army of 7,500. soldiers, besieged by allied American (8,845 soldiers) and French forces (10,800 thousand soldiers). Â It was the last battle of this war in the United States. Â
In the spring of 1781, after a tedious campaign in the south of the United States, the British army under Charles Cornwallis dug in Yorktown, Virginia, on Chesapeake Bay, to await supplies that would arrive by sea. American and French commanders decided to destroy it through a joint operation of the French fleet, which was to block British forces from the sea, and an allied French-American army, which was to cover them from the land.
After receiving confirmation that the strong French fleet had sailed from the French islands in the Caribbean Sea and was heading to Virginia, George Washington marched at the head of the main forces on August 21, 1781 from the vicinity of New York, where it blocked a strong British garrison. Leaving only a small shielding force there, he marched south. A force of 27 liner ships arrived in Chesapeake Bay on August 29 and began blocking Yorktown. On September 5, it fought a victorious battle with the British fleet, which did not manage to break the French blockade.
As a result of the battle, the French gained dominion at sea near Chesapeake Bay, which determined the result of the coming siege. On September 28, major American and French ground forces arrived in Yorktown and began a regular siege. Allied troops were twice as strong as British ones, and were also assisted by the fire of French naval guns. In view of the end of supplies and the lack of prospects for relief, Cornwallis began negotiations on the surrender of his army on October 17, which took place on October 19. 7 thousand British soldiers were taken prisoner.
The battle sealed the British defeat in the war. As a result of capitulation, the British lost a quarter of their forces engaged in operations. In Britain, there was no political will to send new supplies to America to make up for these losses. In the British parliament, a peace group gained the upper hand. The British armies had only the ports of New York, Charleston and Savannah in their hands. Until the end of the war, they did not make serious attempts to get out of these strengthened positions. Britain focused its efforts on a naval war against France that lasted until peace was concluded in 1783.
