Chosen by the British for its strategic naval position, Yorktown, Virginia, was the site of the last large-scale battle of the American Revolution. Yorktown was an important victory for the Continental army and its allies, the French. After the French navy formed a blockade in Chesapeake Bay, the Americans and the French fought the British hand to hand. Overpowered, outnumbered, and cut off from supplies, the British surrendered.