The Surrender of Cornwallis (We the People: Revolution and the New Nation)

The Revolutionary War was almost over. The king of England’s mighty troops had fallen to a ragtag army of Americans at the Battle of Yorktown. Under the command of General Charles Cornwallis, the proud British soldiers were forced to give up their arms. On October 19, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered. The last major battle of the war had broken him. Soon the new United States would form its own government. Independence had arrived.