On August 27 and 28, 1781, a 5,000-man French army under General Count Rochambeau encamped on grounds extending northeast from here toward the Whippany River. After resting, they marched rapidly southward, in parallel with American troops led by General George Washington, to Yorktown, Virginia. There, on October 19, 1781, the combined armies forced the surrender of British General Lord Cornwallis in the final major battle of the American Revolution.