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British general whose Southern campaign brought him to Yorktown, where his decision to fortify the town rather than retreat left him vulnerable to the combined French and American siege. His surrender on October 19, 1781, effectively ended the war. Cornwallis himself did not attend the surrender ceremony, claiming illness.

Commander of the French army in America who proposed the Virginia campaign and marched his forces from Rhode Island to Yorktown alongside Washington. Rochambeau's professional army and his diplomatic skill in managing the alliance were essential to the victory.

Commander of the French fleet whose victory at the Battle of the Capes on September 5, 1781, sealed off Chesapeake Bay and prevented the British navy from rescuing Cornwallis. De Grasse's naval superiority was the indispensable condition for the siege's success.

British officer who formally surrendered Cornwallis's sword at Yorktown because Cornwallis claimed to be ill and refused to attend the ceremony himself. O'Hara first offered the sword to Rochambeau, who directed him to Washington, who directed him to General Lincoln — a deliberate protocol of military etiquette.

Commander of the Continental Army who orchestrated the march from New York to Virginia and directed the siege of Yorktown. Washington's decision to shift the entire campaign south — abandoning his long-planned attack on New York — was the strategic gamble that won the war.

French aristocrat and Continental general who commanded American forces in Virginia during the months before the siege. Lafayette's ability to shadow Cornwallis without being drawn into a decisive battle kept the British in Virginia long enough for Washington and Rochambeau to arrive.

Washington's former aide-de-camp who commanded the American assault on Redoubt 10 on the night of October 14, 1781. Hamilton had lobbied aggressively for a field command, and the storming of the redoubt — completed in ten minutes with bayonets — was his moment of military glory.

A Yorktown resident who endured the siege from inside the British lines. Civilian accounts describe sheltering in caves along the riverbank as allied artillery bombarded the town. Women, children, and the enslaved population trapped inside Yorktown bore the physical danger of the bombardment alongside the British soldiers.