Yorktown Battlefield

Yorktown Battlefield is on the eastern end of the Colonial Pkwy. The last major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here in 1781, when Gen. Charles Cornwallis sought to establish a British naval port at Yorktown with 8,300 soldiers. Gen. George Washington moved his American army into Virginia to reinforce the Marquis de Lafayette’s allied forces; the French fleet blockaded Chesapeake Bay. Under siege by 17,600 Continental troops, Cornwallis surrendered.

The battlefield is administered by Colonial National Historical Park. Two driving tours begin at the visitor center. The 7-mile Battlefield Tour Road includes earthworks, siege lines and the site of the British surrender. At Moore House, officers met to negotiate the capitulation. The 9-mile Encampment Tour Road passes allied camps, Washington’s Headquarters and the French Cemetery.