About 30 miles northwest of Norfolk, on the York
River is the site where British General Cornwallis's troops were
defeated by General Washington and French General Jean deRochambeau,
who had been sent to America by King Louis XVI to assist in the
battle against his longtime enemy, the British. The French fleet,
under Admiral François de Grasse, blockaded the Chesapeake,
hemming in Cornwallis and defeating the British naval forces, dooming
the British campaign. Cornwallis surrendered to Washington on October
19, 1781, The Treaty of Paris was signed two years later, recognizing
the independence of the United States.
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