Why did the Battle of Yorktown happen?

It was the end of the Revolutionary war, where Gen. Cornwallis surrendered to the Americans. They were fighting to gain America's independence from England

Answered by vchurch24 | 2024-06-10

The Battle of Yorktown was the culminating conflict of the American Revolution. In 1781, General Charles Cornwallis moved his British army to Yorktown, Virginia, intending to secure a deep-water port to facilitate naval support and troop transport. Unbeknownst to Cornwallis, the French naval force, led by Admiral de Grasse, entered the Chesapeake Bay, cutting off his escape by sea. Meanwhile, American forces under General Washington, along with French troops led by the Marquis de Lafayette and the Comte de Rochambeau, converged upon Yorktown. Overwhelming the peninsula where Cornwallis's forces were positioned, the American and French armies launched a siege, effectively trapping the British on the peninsula and blocking any movement westward.
On October 19, 1781, after an unsuccessful breakout attempt across the York River and the failure of expected relief from General Sir Henry Clinton, Cornwallis was compelled to surrender his army. This decisive American victory, aided significantly by French military and naval collaboration, led to the end of major operations in the war and the commencement of peace negotiations, culminating in the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which acknowledged American independence.

Answered by MichaelAnsara | 2024-06-18

The Battle of Yorktown occurred from September 28 to October 19, 1781, as a crucial confrontation in the American Revolutionary War. It involved American and French forces laying siege to General Cornwallis's British troops, leading to his surrender. This pivotal defeat for the British ultimately propelled the United States toward independence, formally recognized in the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
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Answered by vchurch24 | 2024-10-01