Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805
Charles Cornwallis as painted by the English artist Gainsborough
Place of birth	Grosvenor Square, London, England
Place of death	Ghazipur, British India
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1757 - 1805
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Seven Years' War American Revolutionary War Irish Rebellion of 1798
Other work	Governor-General of India Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805, in Ghazipur, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India) was a British military commander and colonial governor. In the United States, he is best remembered as a British general in the American Revolutionary War. His 1781 defeat by a combined American-French force at the Siege of Yorktown is generally considered the end of the War, as the bulk of British troops had surrendered with Cornwallis, although minor skirmishes continued for another two years. In India, where he served two terms as Governor-General, he is remembered for promulgating the Permanent Settlement. As Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, he argued for Catholic emancipation.

Early life

Cornwallis was the oldest son of Charles Cornwallis, 5th Baron Cornwallis (later 1st Earl Cornwallis) (March 29, 1700 – June 23, 1762, in the Hotwells, near Bristol) and was born at Grosvenor Square in London, England, even though his family's estates were in Kent.

The Cornwallis family was established at Brome Hall, near Eye, in Suffolk, in the course of the 14th century, and members of it occasionally represented the county in the House of Commons during the next three hundred years. Frederick Cornwallis, created a Baronet in 1627, fought for King Charles I, and followed King Charles II into exile. He was created Baron Cornwallis, of Eye in the County of Suffolk, in 1661, and his descendants by fortunate marriages increased the importance of the family. His parents were married on November 28, 1722 in St.James's, Westminster. Cornwallis' mother, Elizabeth Townshend (died December 1, 1785), was the daughter of the 2nd Viscount Townshend and a niece of the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole. His father was created Earl Cornwallis, Viscount Cornwallis and Viscount Brome in 1753, at which point he was styled Viscount Brome. His Brother was Admiral Sir William Cornwallis. An uncle, Frederick, was Archbishop of Canterbury and another uncle, Edward, was a leading colonialist in Canada.

Early Military career

Charles was educated at Eton College — where he received an injury to his eye by an accidental blow at hockey from Shute Barrington, afterwards Bishop of Durham — and Clare College, Cambridge. He obtained his first commission as Ensign in the 1st Foot Guards, on December 8, 1757. His military education then commenced, and after travelling on the continent with a Prussian officer, Captain de Roguin, Lord Brome, as he was then known, studied at the military academy of Turin. He also became a Member of Parliament in January 1760, entering the House of Commons for the village of Wye in Kent. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl Cornwallis in 1762.

Throughout the Seven Years' War, Lord Cornwallis served four terms in different posts in Germany, interspersed with trips home. In 1758, he served as a staff officer to Lord Granby. A year later, he participated at the Battle of Minden. After the battle, he purchased a captaincy in the 85th Regiment of Foot. In 1761, he served with the 11th Foot and was promoted to Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel. He led his unit in the Battle of Villinghausen on July 15-July 16 1761, and was noted for his gallantry. He became colonel of the 33rd Regiment of Foot in 1766.

Role in the American Revolutionary War

Cornwallis's participation in the American revolution began with his service as second in command to Henry Clinton. Clinton's forces arrived in North America in May 1776 at Cape Fear, North Carolina. These forces then shifted south and participated in the first siege of Charleston in June of 1776. After the failure of this siege, Clinton and Cornwallis transported his troops north to serve under William Howe in the campaign for New York City. During this campaign, Cornwallis, who continued to serve under Clinton, fought with distinction in the Battle of Long Island, participated in the Battle of White Plains, and played a supporting role in capture of Fort Washington. At the end of the campaign, Cornwallis was then given an independent command in which he captured Fort Lee and pursued Washington's forces as far as New Brunswick.

After the New York City campaign and the subsequent occupation of New Jersey by the British army, Cornwallis prepared to leave for England as the army moved into winter quarters. However, as Cornwallis was preparing to embark in December 1776, Washington launched his surprise attack on Trenton. In response, Cornwallis's leave was cancelled and he was ordered to take command of the forces stationed in the Trenton area. Since Clinton was in England at this time, Cornwallis served directly under Howe. In response to Washington's initiative, Cornwallis gathered together garrisons scattered across New Jersey and moved them to Trenton. On January 2, 1777, he confronted Washington's army, which was positioned near Assunpink Creek. In the resulting Second Battle of Trenton, Cornwallis unsuccessfully attacked Washington's position late in the afternoon. Cornwallis prepared his troops to continue the assault of Washington's position the next day. During the night, however, Washington's forces escaped to attack the British outpost at Princeton. Though part of the credit for the success of the Continental army's disengagement from Cornwallis is due to Washington's use of deception, including maintaining blazing campfires and keeping up sounds of camp activity, Cornwallis also contributed by not sending out patrols to monitor the Continental Armies activities.

After the battle of Princeton, Washington's forces moved north toward Morristown and the British Forces took up winter quarters in garrisons centered on New Brunswick and Perth Amboy. During the winter, Cornwallis participated in raids during the forage war in an attempt to deny the Continental forces access to supplies. In early Spring, Cornwallis led a successful attack on Benjamin Lincoln's garrison at Bound Brook on April 12, 1777. However, these engagements had no long-term impact as Howe had decided to withdraw his forces back towards New York City.

While serving directly under Howe, Cornwallis also participated as a field commander in the Philadelphia campaign of 1777. At the Battle of Brandywine Creek on September 11, 1777, Cornwallis was responsible for the flanking movement ultimately forced the American forces from their position. Cornwallis also played an important role in the Battle of Germantown on October 4 and the capture of Fort Mercer in New Jersey on November 20. With the army in winter quarters in Philadelphia, Cornwallis took his long-delayed leave to England.

Cornwallis returned to Philadelphia to serve as second-in-command to Henry Clinton, who had replaced William Howe. Cornwallis commanded the rearguard during the overland withdrawal from Philadelphia to New York City and played an important role in the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778. In November, 1778 Cornwallis once more returned to England to be with his ailing wife, Jemima, who died in February 1779.

Cornwallis returned to America in July, 1779, where he was to play a central role as British commander in the Southern Campaign. At the end of 1779, Clinton and Cornwallis transported the bulk of their forces south and initiated the second siege of Charleston during the spring of 1780, which resulted in the surrender of the Continental forces under Benjamin Lincoln. After the siege of Charleston and the destruction of Abraham Buford's Virginia regiments at Waxhaw, Clinton returned to New York. leaving Cornwallis in command in the South. The events leading up to Cornwallis's defeat at Yorktown are told in the article on the southern theater of the American Revolutionary War.

His tactics in America, especially during his Southern Command (1780-81), were excessively criticised by his political enemies in London. However Cornwallis retained the confidence of King George III and the British Government - enabling him to continue his career.

First term as Governor-general of India

After the war Cornwallis returned to Britain, and in 1786 he was appointed governor-general and commander in chief in India. He instituted land reforms and reorganized the British army and administration.

In 1792 he defeated Tipu Sultan, the powerful sultan of Mysore by capturing his capital Srirangapatnam paving the way towards British dominance in Southern India.

Cornwallis was given the title marquis in 1792 and returned to England the following year. His time in India did much to restore his reputation which had been tarnished at Yorktown.

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

Cornwallis was only made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in June 1798, after the outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 between republican United Irishmen and the British Government. His appointment was greeted unfavourably by the Irish elite who suspected he had liberal sympathies with the predominantly Catholic rebels.

In his combined role as both Viceroy and Commander-in-Chief Cornwallis oversaw the defeat of both the Irish rebels and a French invasion force led by General Humbert that landed in Connaught in August 1798.

Second term as Governor-general of India

He was reappointed governor-general of India in 1805, but died on October 5 of that year, soon after arriving in India.

Legacy

Today Cornwallis is remembered primarily as the British commander who surrendered at Yorktown. Because of the enormous impact the siege had on American history he is still fairly well-known in the United States - and is often referenced in popular culture.

In Ireland due to the execution of prisoners of war in Ballinalee after the Battle of Ballinamuck, he achieved local notoriety that lasts to this day. In the village, in the north Leinster county of Longford, the site of the executions is known as Bullys Acre.

In the 2000 film The Patriot about the events leading up to Yorktown, Cornwallis was portrayed by English actor Tom Wilkinson.

Fort Cornwallis, founded in 1786 in the state of Penang in Malaysia, is named for General Cornwallis.

He also has a building named after him at the University of Kent, Canterbury campus - one of the largest buildings on campus, with numerous lecture theatures, seminar rooms and housing the University's administration sector.

Issue

His only son, Charles, Viscount Brome, (b. 1774), succeeded as 2nd Marquess Cornwallis. He married Lady Louisa Gordon, daughter of the 4th Duke of Gordon, had five daughters, and died on 16 August, 1823, when the Marquessate became extinct. James Cornwallis, the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, succeeded as 4th Earl Cornwallis.

Bibliography

Primary Documents

• Public Record Office, United Kingdom: Cornwallis Papers, Ref: 30/11/1-66

The Correspondence of Charles, First Marquis Cornwallis, Vol. 1, 1859, ed. Ross,

Secondary Sources

• Adams, R: “A View of Cornwallis's Surrender at Yorktown”, American Historical Review, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Oct., 1931), pp. 25-49,
• Bicheno, H: Rebels and Redcoats: The American Revolutionary War, London, 2003
• Buchanan, J: The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution and the Carolinas, New York, 1997
• Clement, R: “The World Turned Upside down At the Surrender of Yorktown”, Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 92, No. 363 (Jan. - Mar., 1979), pp. 66-67
• Ferling, J: The World Turned Upside Down: The American Victory in the War of Independence, London, 1988
• Harvey, R:A Few Bloody Noses: The American War of Independence, London, 2001
• Hibbert, C: Rebels and Redcoats: The American Revolution Through British Eyes, London, 2001
• Mackesy, P: The War for America, London, 1964
• Pakenham, H: The Year of Liberty: The Great Irish Rebellion of 1798, London 1969
• Peckham, H:The War for Independence, A Military History, Chicago, 1967
• Weintraub, S: Iron Tears, Rebellion in America 1775-1783, London, 2005
• Wickwire, F: Cornwallis, The American Adventure, Boston, 1970

References

Government offices
Preceded by Sir John MacPherson	Governor-General of India 1786 – 1793	Succeeded by Sir John Shore, Bt
Preceded by The Duke of Richmond	Master-General of the Ordnance 1795 – 1801	Succeeded by The Earl of Chatham
Preceded by The Earl Camden	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1798 – 1801	Succeeded by The Earl of Hardwicke
Preceded by The Marquess Wellesley	Governor-General of India 1805	Succeeded by Sir George Hilario Barlow
Legal offices
Preceded by The Lord Monson	Justice in Eyre south of the Trent 1767 – 1769	Succeeded by Sir Fletcher Norton
Diplomatic posts
Vacant French Revolutionary Wars Title last held by Earl Gower	British Plenipotentiary to France 1801 – 1802	Succeeded by The Lord Whitworth
Military offices
Preceded by Sir Robert Sloper	Commander-in-Chief, India 1786 – 1793	Succeeded by Sir Robert Abercromby
Preceded by Sir Ralph Abercromby	Commander-in-Chief, Ireland 1798 – 1801	Succeeded by Sir William Medows
Preceded by Gerald Lake	Commander-in-Chief, India 1805	Succeeded by The Lord Lake
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Lord Berkeley of Stratton	Constable of the Tower Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets 1771–1784	Succeeded by Lord George Lennox
Preceded by Lord George Lennox	Constable of the Tower Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets 1784–1805	Succeeded by The Earl of Moira
Peerage of Great Britain
New title	Marquess Cornwallis 1792 – 1805	Succeeded by Charles Cornwallis
Preceded by Charles Cornwallis	Earl Cornwallis 1762 – 1805

•  • [ e] Viceroys of India

For the East India Trading Company (1773-1858) Warren Hastings (1774-1785) Sir John MacPherson (1785-1786) The Marquess Cornwallis (1786-1793) The Baron Teignmouth (1793-1798) Sir Alured Clarke (1798) The Marquess Wellesley (1798-1805) The Marquess Cornwallis (1805) Sir George Hilario Barlow, Bart. (1805-1807) The Earl of Minto (1807-1813) The Marquess of Hastings (1813-1823) John Adam (1823) The Earl Amherst (1823-1828) William Butterworth Bayley (1828) Lord William Bentinck (1828-1835) Sir Charles Metcalfe (1835-1836) The Earl of Auckland (1836-1842) The Earl of Ellenborough (1842-1844) William Wilberforce Bird (1844) The Viscount Hardinge (1844-1848) The Marquess of Dalhousie (1848-1856) The Viscount Canning (1856-1858) For the British Government after the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny (1858-1947) The Earl Canning (1858-1862) The Earl of Elgin & Kincardine (1862-1863) The Baron Napier of Magdala (1863) Sir William Denison (1863-1864) The Baron Lawrence (1864-1869) The Earl of Mayo- assasinated (1869-1872) Sir John Strachey (1872) The Lord Napier (1872) The Earl of Northbrook (1872-1876) The Earl of Lytton (1876-1880) The Marquess of Ripon (1880-1884) The Marquess of Dufferin & Ava (1884-1888) The Marquess of Lansdowne (1888-1894) The Earl of Elgin & Kincardine (1894-1899) The Baron Curzon of Kedleston (1899-1905) The Earl of Minto (1905-1910) The Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (1910-1916) The Viscount Chelmsford (1916-1921) The Marquess of Reading (1921-1926) The Baron Irwin (1926-1931) The Marquess of Willingdon (1931-1936) The Marquess of Linlithgow (1936-1943) The Viscount Wavell (1943-1947) The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma (1947) After Indian Independence, as representatives of George VI in his rle as King of India (1947-1950) The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma (1947-1948) Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari (1948-1950) 1950- India becomes a Republic. After Pakistani Independence as represntatives of first George VI in his rle as King of Pakistan and then of Elizabeth II in her rle as Queen of Pakistan Jinnah (1947-1948) Khawaja Nazimuddin (1948-1951) Ghulam Muhammad (1951-1955) Iskander Mirza (1955-1956) 1956- Pakistan becomes a Republic