Siege of Yorktown Animated Map

After six years of war, both the British and Continental armies were exhausted. The British, in hostile territory, held only a few coastal areas in America. On the other side of the Atlantic, Britain was also waging a global war with France and Spain. The American conflict was unpopular and divisive, and there was no end in sight. For the colonies, the long struggle for independence was leading to enormous debt, food shortages, and a lack of morale among the soldiers. Both sides were desperately seeking a definitive victory.

Outnumbered and outfought during a three-week siege in which they sustained great losses, British troops surrendered to the Continental Army and their French allies at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781. This last major land battle of the American Revolution led to negotiations for peace with the British and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Tour the Yorktown Battlefield with Kris White and Dan Davis.