Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, as Knight of the Order of the Garter (1798)

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, as Lieutenant General

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis , KG (born December 31, 1738 in Grosvenor Square , London , † October 5, 1805 in Ghazipur , Uttar Pradesh ) was a British general in the American War of Independence , who later also served as Governor General of India .

origin

Cornwallis was the eldest son of Charles Cornwallis, 5th Baron Cornwallis. His father was made Earl of Cornwallis in 1753 . His mother was a niece of the first British Prime Minister Robert Walpole . His brother was Admiral Sir William Cornwallis , his uncle Frederick Cornwallis Archbishop of Canterbury .

youth

Charles Cornwallis attended Eton College before joining the 1st Foot Guards in 1757 . In 1760 he was elected to the House of Commons . Two years later he moved to the House of Lords as Earl Cornwallis , having inherited this title when his father died.

Career

Seven Years War

In the meantime he fought in the Seven Years War in Germany a. a. on the staff of John Manners, Marquess of Granby . After participating in the Battle of Minden , he returned to Great Britain , but later went back to the continent, where he took part in the Battle of Vellinghausen .

North America

The Americans take Lord Cornwallis and his army prisoner in Yorktown on October 19, 1781: historicizing painting by John Trumbull from 1797

After the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War , Cornwallis went to America voluntarily in 1776. Here he initially fought successfully, took Philadelphia and defeated General Horatio Gates on August 16, 1780 at the Battle of Camden . In September / October 1781 he was trapped by George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown and had to surrender on October 19, 1781 with 8,000 men, whereupon he was recalled. When leaving Yorktown, his band is said to have played The World Turned Upside Down . As a result of the Battle of Yorktown, Great Britain recognized the independence of the former British colonies in the Peace of Paris and formally ended the War of Independence.

India

In 1786 Cornwallis was awarded the highest British order, the Order of the Garter . In the same year the king sent him to the East Indies as Governor General and Commander-in-Chief . He reorganized the administrative and tax system there and also carried out some legal reforms. He divided Bengal into two tax districts. In 1791 he fought Tipu Sultan of Mysore, triumphed at Bangalore and, through the siege of Seringapatam , forced a peace that cost them half of their states.

Ireland

In 1793 he was replaced, returned to Great Britain, was promoted to Marquess Cornwallis and General Feldzeugmeister. In 1798 Cornwallis went to Ireland as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Here he suppressed the rebellion that had broken out by taking energetic measures , defeated the 1,000 French under General Humbert who had landed on the Irish coast, and restored calm. On the other hand, he campaigned for Catholic emancipation .

In 1801 he was a negotiator in the peace negotiations with the French and in 1802 he signed the Peace of Amiens .

India

After Richard Colley-Wellesley was recalled, Cornwallis became Governor General of the East Indies again, but he died shortly after his arrival in India. His body was buried in the city of Ghazipur; the tomb continues to be tended today by the Indian government. The British Parliament had him erected a monument in St Paul's Cathedral in London .

Movie

In the film The Patriot by Roland Emmerich with Mel Gibson , Charles Cornwallis was portrayed by the actor Tom Wilkinson .

literature

• Thomas Deakin: After defeat at Yorktown, Lord Cornwallis went on to command brilliantly and govern justly in India . In: Great Battles , 1993, No. 9, pp. 12-16.
• Benton Rain Patterson: Washington and Cornwallis - The Battle for America, 1775-1783 . Taylor Pub, 2004. ISBN 1-58979-021-9 (English)
• Cornwallis, Charles Cornwallis . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 7 : Constantine Pavlovich - Demidov . London 1910, p. 183 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).

Web links

Commons : Charles Cornwallis  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Marquess Cornwallis 1792-1805	Charles Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis	Earl Cornwallis 1762-1805	Charles Cornwallis
John Pratt	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1798-1801	Philip Yorke