WHAT HAPPENED IN 1781.
Look what happened the 1781.

American Revolutionary War: 1,500 soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne's command rebel against the Continental Army's winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781. (1. January 1781)

American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold. (5. January 1781)

In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeat the last attempt by France to invade Jersey. (6. January 1781)

American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cowpens – Continental troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the battle in South Carolina. (17. January 1781)

American Revolutionary War: British forces seize the Dutch-owned Caribbean island Sint Eustatius. (3. February 1781)

Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: Captain Thomas Shirley opens his expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa (present-day Ghana). (18. February 1781)

The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation. (1. March 1781)

William Herschel discovers Uranus. (13. March 1781)

American Revolutionary War: Battle of Guilford Courthouse – Near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, 1,900 British troops under General Charles Cornwallis defeat an American force numbering 4,400. (15. March 1781)

American Revolutionary War: British and French ships clash in the Battle of Fort Royal off the coast of Martinique. (29. April 1781)

Jack Jouett begins his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending raid by Banastre Tarleton. (3. June 1781)

The Battle of Dogger Bank takes place. (5. August 1781)

Los Angeles, California, is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola) by 44 Spanish settlers. (4. September 1781)

Battle of the Chesapeake in the American Revolutionary War : the British Navy is repelled by the French Navy, contributing to the British surrender at Yorktown. (5. September 1781)

The Battle of Groton Heights takes place, resulting in a British victory. (6. September 1781)

American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina, the war's last significant battle in the Southern theater, ends in a narrow British tactical victory. (8. September 1781)

American forces backed by a French fleet begin the siege of Yorktown, Virginia, during the American Revolutionary War. (28. September 1781)

George Washington captures Yorktown, Virginia after the Siege of Yorktown. (16. October 1781)

American Revolutionary War: British General Lord Charles Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown. (17. October 1781)

At Yorktown, Virginia, representatives of British commander Lord Cornwallis handed over Cornwallis' sword and formally surrendered to George Washington and the comte de Rochambeau. (19. October 1781)