("Yankee Doodle") - [Narrator] This three-week battle was the defining victory for the Patriots that led to the end of British rule.

The 1781 Siege of Yorktown was the culmination of six years of arduous fighting between the Americans and the British.

Both sides were drained and looking for an end to the war.

Knowing that they would have the support of the French Navy, Washington and his troops gambled and marched to Yorktown instead of New York City.

There, they took General Cornwallis' forces by surprise, which began the turning of the tide for the Americans and their French allies.

9,000 members of the British Army had to confront 19,000 Continentals in this skirmish.

From September 28 to October 19, the two sides engaged in a grueling battle, from trench digging to artillery barrages, to close-quarter combat.

The Americans finally forced the British to surrender the morning of October 17.

When the news reached London that Cornwallis surrendered, the prime minister exclaimed, "Oh god, it's all over.

It's all over."