On October 19, 1781, the American army won the decisive battle of the Revolutionary War.

The British general, Lord Charles Cornwallis, surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, after his army was surrounded by the forces of George Washington and the French navy.

General Cornwallis signed the surrender documents after nearly two weeks of siege.

He thought that further resistance would be a futile waste of the lives of his troops. The general ordered his soldiers to march out of the city with dignity, their flags unfurled in defiance.

As the British troops surrendered their arms, the general ordered the band to play the appropriately titled English march, “The World Has Turned Upside Down.