Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Military Commander
1738 – 1805
Who was Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis?
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG, styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. In the United States and the United Kingdom he is best remembered as one of the leading British generals in the American War of Independence. His surrender in 1781 to a combined American and French force at the Siege of Yorktown ended significant hostilities in North America. He also served as a civil and military governor in Ireland and India; in both places he brought about significant changes, including the Act of Union in Ireland, and the Cornwallis Code and the Permanent Settlement in India.
Born into an aristocratic family and educated at Eton and Cambridge, Cornwallis joined the army in 1757, seeing action in the Seven Years' War. Upon his father's death in 1762 he became Earl Cornwallis and entered the House of Lords. From 1766 until 1805 he was Colonel of the 33rd Regiment of Foot. He next saw military action in 1776 in the American War of Independence.
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- Born
- Dec 31, 1738
Grosvenor Square - Parents
- Siblings
- Spouses
- Jemima Tullikens
( - 1779)
- Jemima Tullikens
- Children
- Nationality
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- Profession
- Education
- Eton College
- Clare College, Cambridge
- Turin Military Academy
- Employment
- Ensign, 1st Regiment of Foot Guards
(1756/12/08 - 1759/08/05) - Lieutenant, 1st Regiment of Foot Guards
(1759/08/05 - ) - Captain, 85th Regiment of the Line
(1759 - 1760) - Lieutenant Colonel, 12th Regiment of Foot Guards
(1761/05/01 - ) - Colonel, 33rd Regiment of Foot Guards
(1766/03/21 - ) - Major General, 33rd Regiment of Foot Guards
(1775/09/29 - )
- Ensign, 1st Regiment of Foot Guards
- Died
- Oct 5, 1805
Ghazipur - Resting place
- The Tomb of Lord Cornwallis
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
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