In which year did the British surrender at Yorktown to American and French forces?

In which year did the British surrender at Yorktown to American and French forces?

• A. 1776
• B. 1789
• C. 1780
• D. 1781

Answer: (D)

The year 1781 is when the British surrendered at Yorktown, effectively ending major fighting in the American Revolution. The victory came from a coordinated Franco-American assault: Washington’s American forces joined with Rochambeau’s French troops to trap Cornwallis’s army in Virginia, while de Grasse’s fleet blocked any British relief by sea. After a siege, the British commander surrendered on October 19, 1781. This surrender was the decisive signal that the war was winding down, even though formal peace negotiations would continue and the Treaty of Paris would be signed in 1783. So, the surrender year is 1781. (1776 marks independence, 1780 is mid-war, and 1789 is the later constitutional era.)

The year 1781 is when the British surrendered at Yorktown, effectively ending major fighting in the American Revolution. The victory came from a coordinated Franco-American assault: Washington’s American forces joined with Rochambeau’s French troops to trap Cornwallis’s army in Virginia, while de Grasse’s fleet blocked any British relief by sea. After a siege, the British commander surrendered on October 19, 1781. This surrender was the decisive signal that the war was winding down, even though formal peace negotiations would continue and the Treaty of Paris would be signed in 1783. So, the surrender year is 1781. (1776 marks independence, 1780 is mid-war, and 1789 is the later constitutional era.)