"On October 19, 1781, a British army under General Charles Lord Cornwallis was forced to surrender to General Washington’s combined American and French army.
Upon hearing of their defeat, British Prime Minister Frederick Lord North is reputed to have said, "Oh God, it's all over." And it was.
The victory secured independence for the United States and significantly changed the course of world history."
For more detailed reading (the above excerpt is from the NPS site) about the battlefield that ties into the history of what became the United States of America, see the informative National Park Service site at www.NPS.gov.
