Cornwallis, like many officers of his generation, fought in Germany during the Seven Years War. During the Virginia Campaign, Cornwallis engaged the equally famous French commander, the Marquis de Lafayette, in a number of indecisive battles. Later, Cornwallis led British forces through North Carolina and South Carolina, where he fought against American forces under Nathanael Greene. Before he could leave, the Americans won the victory at Trenton and Cornwallis hurried back to the army. In 1777 Cornwallis commanded one of Howe's divisions in the Battle of Brandywine.
Cornwallis returned to America in time to fight at Monmouth. Cornwallis was born on December 31, 1738 to Charles Cornwallis, the Fifth Baron of Cornwallis, and Elizabeth Cornwallis in London. He was reasonably successful in improving the civil administration, less successful in devising a permanent system for collecting land revenues, and not at all successful in improving the quality of the company's troops.
Cornwallis moved to the 13 colonies in North America in 1776 to try to control the rebelling colonies. He was the eldest son of a very distinguished aristocratic family. Yorktown , VA Later, Cornwallis led British forces through North Carolina and South Carolina, where he fought against American forces under Nathanael Greene. In 1786, he was appointed governor-general of India, where he brought important reforms to the civil service and the judiciary.
Nominally still subordinate to Clinton, he was at such a distance from his commander and enjoyed such political favor with George Sackville Germaine (the English secretary of state for the Colonies) in London that he could conduct operations without worrying about restrictions from above. Facts about Battle of Yorktown 2: another retreat. While Cornwallis—with the free use of bribery—was able to push the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament, he was unable to gain royal acquiescence to Catholic emancipation in Ireland and resigned in protest.
He participated in the New York campaign and in the occupation of Lord Cornwallis is commonly remembered in American history for his failure at Yorktown, but that single event shortchanges the contributions made by what many authorities regard as the most capable British commander in the war.
Cornwallis moved to the 13 colonies in North America in 1776 to try to control the rebelling colonies. Charles Cornwallis was born on December 31st, 1738 and died on October 5th, 1805. In 1778, Cornwallis was named second in command under Clinton and in 1780 assisted in the opening of a renewed effort in the American South. His failure to catch George Washington at this time and later before the Battle of Princeton led to some criticism by Sir Henry Clinton and a feeling that Cornwallis was too cocksure. While he stopped short of total victory, Cornwallis compelled the cession of much of Tippoo's territory and payment of a large indemnity and effectively eliminated this threat to the company's power. This page was last changed on 8 March 2013, at 06:57.
His army marched north through North Carolina and into Virginia, where the forces of Washington and the French fleet compelled his surrender at Yorktown in October 1781.