- General Washington aided by the Count De Rochambeau and the Marquis De Lafayette of France led the siege on Yorktown and defeated the British army by cutting off their supplies, hammering them with artillery and isolating them from reinforcements.
- Cornwallis claimed illness and would not surrender himself, but sent British General Charles O'Hara to accept defeat.
- Washington would accept from no one other than Cornwallis so he sent American General Benjamin Lincoln to accept the terms.