The Battle of Yorktown was won by the Americans and their allies on this day in 1781.

Although skirmishes would last for another year, the British defeat in this Virginia town near the Atlantic coast effectively ended the war — and it occurred just 20 miles from Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, which was established in May 1607.

The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull currently hangs in the rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC.