General Charles Cornwallis

General Charles Cornwallis

British General and colonial governor Charles Cornwallis, b. Dec. 31, 1738, d. Oct. 5, 1805, was the eldest son of the 1st Earl Cornwallis. Educated at Eton and Clare College, Cambridge, he became an Ensign in the 1st (Grenadier) Guards just before his 18th birthday.

He attended the military academy at Turin, and while serving in Germany during the Seven Years' War rose to Lieutenant Colonel. On succeeding to his father's title as 2d Earl in 1762, Cornwallis became active politically with the Whigs and took his seat in the House of Lords where his abilities and connections led to appointments as Aide-de-Camp to the King, Chief Circuit Court Justice south of the Trent River, and Joint Vice-Treasurer of Ireland. He was sympathetic to the grievances of the American Colonists and voted against the Declaratory Act in 1766.

Although opposed to the measures that provoked the American Revolution, he accepted as a duty a command in North America with the rank of Major General. During the American Revolution Cornwallis served with distinction. He aided the British victory at the Battle of Long Island on Aug. 27–28, 1776. Later that year he pursued Washington's army across New Jersey, halting at New Brunswick on orders from Gen. William Howe. Hurrying forward again after Washington's victory at Trenton on Dec. 26, 1776, Cornwallis failed to entrap the patriots and went into winter quarters. Cornwallis was largely responsible for the British victory at Brandywine, Pa., Sept. 11, 1777, and led British forces into Philadelphia on the 28th.

After a brief visit to England he returned as a Lieutenant General, second in command to Sir Henry Clinton. He opposed the evacuation of Philadelphia but accompanied the British Army on its retreat to New York and repulsed the Americans under Gen. Charles Lee at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778. He again returned to England to attend his ill wife, who died in 1779, but rejoined Clinton in August 1779 and participated in the siege of Charleston, S.C. (April 1–May 12, 1780). When the city fell, Clinton returned to New York. Cornwallis took command of British forces in the South.

On Aug. 16, 1780, at Camden, S. C., Cornwallis (left) routed the army of Gen. Horatio Gates. He boldly pursued the Americans, now commanded by Gen. Nathanael Greene, but Patriot victories at King's Mountain (Oct. 7, 1780) and Cowpens (Jan. 17, 1781) sapped his reserves so that he marched to the coast and entrenched at Yorktown, Va. Surrounded by a superior force of French and American troops, he surrendered on Oct. 19, 1781, virtually ending the war.

~ Later Years ~

In 1785, Cornwallis was Envoy to the Court of Frederick the Great of Prussia. From 1786 to 1793 he was Governor-General of India, where he made reforms in the civil and military service and personally led the campaigns that won British victory in the Third Mysore War. For this he was created Marquess Cornwallis in 1792 and in 1793 was promoted to General.

He was appointed to the cabinet in 1795, and as the only General was responsible for defense. As Viceroy of Ireland in 1798 he defeated a rebellion abetted by French troops. As the British plenipotentiary, with Joseph Bonaparte he drew up the treaty for the Peace of Amiens (March 27, 1802). He returned to India as Governor-General and died there at Ghazipur on Oct. 5, 1805.

Surrender of Cornwallis

(See Bibliography Below)

| Back to Timeline | or click on your browser's "back to previous page" button

Authors: Peter J. King; Paul C. Bowers, Jr. (contributing).
Picture Credit: National Portrait Gallery, London (top); Colonial National Historic Park, Yorktown (middle); The Granger Collection (bottom).
Bibliography: Aspinall, A., Cornwallis in Bengal (1931); Wickwire, Frank and Mary, Cornwallis: The American Adventure, 2 vols. (1970, 1980).