October 19, 1781 the British surrender to George Washington at Yorktown.
Apparently General Cornwallis of the Brits did not feel well that day . . . no kidding, losing to a scrappy colony that couldn’t even dress its troops . . . so instead General O’Hara officially surrendered for the British. But even O’Hara couldn’t stomach the notion of surrendering to Washington and instead attempted to surrender to Count Rochambeau, Washington’s French counterpart. Rochambeau was kind enough to direct O’Hara to Washington’s subordinate, General Lincoln. Snub for a snub.
The French were pivotal in forcing Cornwallis’ hand. Their navy flushed out the British navy in the region leaving Cornwallis no support and no way out.
So Viva La France!