The Battle of Yorktown was the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War. It took place from September 28 to October 19, 1781. The battle was a joint Franco-American land and sea campaign that trapped a major British army on a peninsula at Yorktown, Virginia. The battle led to the surrender of British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and his army. The battle was the deciding engagement of the American Revolution. The British surrender led to the end of British rule.