Yorktown Day in Virginia Date in the current year: October 19, 2025

The Battle of Yorktown, also known as the Siege of Yorktown, was the culmination of the Yorktown campaign. With the help of French troops sent to North America under the Franco-American alliance, the Continental Army secured its decisive victory in the battle.

The Special Expedition (Expédition Particulière), a French expeditionary force led by the Comte de Rochambeau, arrived in Rhode Island in July 1780 but remained inactive for nearly a year. In the summer of 1781, French and American forces finally united north of New York City, marking the beginning of the Yorktown campaign.

Initially, George Washington and Rochambeau considered either a siege of New York City or operations against the British forces in Virginia. Since both options required the assistance of the French fleet, Washington and Rochambeau asked Rear Admiral François Joseph Paul, the Comte de Grasse, for help.

At Rochambeau’s suggestion, de Grasse sailed to the Chesapeake Bay. He arrived at the end of August and initiated a naval blockade of Yorktown. He eventually defeated a British fleet led by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves in the Battle of the Chesapeake on September 5, 1781. This victory left the French fleet firmly in control of the bay, blocking any reinforcement or escape by sea for the British forces led by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. The French fleet also supplied the allied land forces with the heavy siege guns required for the siege of Yorktown.

On September 28, 1781, the combined American and French land forces, led by Washington and Rochambeau, arrived at Yorktown and completely surrounded Cornwallis. The first shots were exchanged the following day, but there were few casualties. The Americans and French began digging the first parallel on October 6 and started the bombardment on October 9. They fired all night to prevent the British from making repairs.

On October 14, the allied forces began firing on the British redoubts to weaken them for the evening assault. A French column eventually took Redoubt No. 9, and an American column took Redoubt No. 10, completing the second parallel. After three days of intense bombardment and a failed evacuation attempt, Cornwallis requested capitulation terms on October 17.

The formal surrender ceremony, which Cornwallis refused to attend, was held on October 19. The allied forces captured more than 7,000 British soldiers at Yorktown, forcing Britain into peace negotiations that resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Paris and the official recognition of American independence.

Annual Yorktown Day celebrations in Yorktown usually include various commemorative events, such as wreath-laying ceremonies at memorials and gravesites, a patriotic parade down Main Street, speeches, performances, and historical reenactments.