Surrounded on land and sea with no relief in sight, British General Cornwallis still held one last hope of escape across the York River. By mid October 1781 the combined American and French army under Washington and Rochambeau had trapped the British at Yorktown. The French fleet blocked the Chesapeake Bay. With his defenses crumbling under constant bombardment, Cornwallis planned a nighttime ferry of his troops to Gloucester Point, where they might break through lighter opposing lines and march north. On the night of October 16 he began the attempt. 16 boats carried the first wave of light infantry and other troops across the river under cover of darkness. The boats returned for more men. Then a violent storm of wind and rain struck. The water turned rough and the boats were driven downstream. Some were scattered far enough that French vessels captured them. The crossing collapsed into chaos. Cornwallis ordered the operation abandoned and recalled the troops who had already reached the far shore. A German soldier with the French forces who watched the storm wrote, “The sky became completely black and a storm arose with such violent rain and wind that one could barely stand. Providence did not want the enemy to escape us.” The next day he requested a ceasefire. On the 19th he surrendered his army. The storm had removed the final chance for the British to break free and the long war for independence effectively ended.