Who won, Washington or Cornwallis?

Washington. He trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781 and forced his surrender, the victory that effectively won American independence.

Did Washington beat Cornwallis alone?

No. The Yorktown victory depended heavily on French allies: the army under Rochambeau and the fleet under de Grasse, which cut Cornwallis off by sea.

Was Cornwallis a good general?

Yes. He won battles such as Camden in 1780 and fought a costly victory at Guilford Court House in 1781, and later had a notable career in India and Ireland. Yorktown was his great defeat.

What happened at Yorktown?

In 1781 Washington's combined American and French forces besieged Cornwallis's army on the Virginia coast; cut off by the French fleet, he surrendered on 19 October 1781, effectively ending the war.

Did Cornwallis's career end at Yorktown?

No. Despite the surrender he remained a trusted figure and went on to serve as Governor General of India and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

Washington vs Cornwallis: the duel for America

One led a ragged rebellion and held it together for years; the other was one of Britain's ablest field commanders. George Washington and Charles Cornwallis fought on opposite sides of the American Revolution, and their war ended at Yorktown, where Cornwallis surrendered. Here they are, side by side.

Head to head

	George Washington	Charles Cornwallis
Lived	1732 to 1799¹	1738 to 1805²
Role	Commander in chief of the Continental Army	British general in the American war
Met at	Yorktown, 1781	Yorktown, 1781
Strength	Perseverance and holding the army together	Aggressive campaigning in the field
Battle record	Lost New York, but won Trenton, Princeton and the war	Won Camden and Guilford, but trapped at Yorktown³
The end	First president of the United States	Surrendered at Yorktown, later served in India and Ireland
Lasting legacy	Founding father and victor of the Revolution	The general who lost America

Washington: the general who won independence

George Washington was not the most brilliant tactician of his age, and he lost battles, and with them New York City in 1776. His genius lay in endurance: he kept a fragile Continental Army in the field through defeat, winter and near collapse, struck back at Trenton and Princeton, and, with decisive French help, trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781 to win the war.

Portrait of George Washington in a blue and buff uniform, standing with a cane — George Washington in a portrait by Charles Willson Peale, painted in 1776, the year he lost New York and struck back at Trenton. Public domain

Cornwallis: the able general trapped at Yorktown

Charles Cornwallis was among the more aggressive and capable British commanders of the war. He beat the Americans heavily at Camden in 1780⁴ and fought a costly victory at Guilford Court House in 1781. But his campaign in the south drew him to the Virginia coast, where Washington's combined American and French army, backed by the French fleet, besieged him at⁵ Yorktown and forced his surrender on 19 October 1781.⁵

Portrait of Charles Cornwallis in a red British general's coat — Charles Cornwallis painted by Thomas Gainsborough in 1783, two years after his surrender at Yorktown. Public domain

The verdict

Cornwallis was arguably the sharper battlefield tactician, and he won engagements that Washington never could have. But Washington won the thing that mattered: he kept the Revolution alive for years and delivered the final, decisive blow at Yorktown, with his French allies, that secured a nation. Cornwallis won battles; Washington won America, and then became its first president.

Hand-coloured 18th-century plan of the siege of Yorktown and Gloucester on the York River — Plan of the siege of York and Gloucester surveyed by Sebastian Bauman of the Continental artillery and dedicated to Washington, published in 1782. It shows the allied siege lines closing on Cornwallis's works along the York River. Public domain

Compare more in Napoleon vs Wellington, or meet the field in the greatest American commanders.

Sources

Each commander above has a full biography on this site, with its own sources. Judgements of who was "greater" are ours and openly a matter of debate; the facts and dates follow established histories. See our editorial approach.