After five years of war, American independence remained uncertain until the fall of 1781, when a Franco-American force under General George Washington besieged General Lord Corwallis' heavily entrenched British Army at Yorktown, Virginia. On October 14, Washington launched a daring night attack led by 20 men of the 4th Connecticut Infantry, followed by a detachment of the Corps of Sappers and Miners that cleared a passage for the rest of the assault column, and captured Redoubt 10 on the British left. At the same time, French troops captured Redoubt 9. With his defenses breached, Lord Cornwallis surrendered his 7,000 man army on 19 October, and news of the British defeat forced Prime Minister Lord North to resign as his successors negotiated a peace treaty recognizing the united States.
