Charles Cornwallis

1738–1805

Born in 1738 into an aristocratic family, the young Charles Cornwallis dreamed of a career in the army. He matriculated at Clare College in 1756, but soon decided to pursue the military life he had always desired. When hostilities intensified in the American colonies in 1775, Charles was eager to serve king and country.  

Cornwallis went on to lead the British southern campaign during the American Revolution. He was a caring commander whose interest in his soldiers’ wellbeing inspired great loyalty. In 1781, he was ordered by British Commander-in-Chief Henry Clinton to establish forces on the Virginian coast, setting the stage for the historic Battle of Yorktown. Recognising that his forces could not hold Yorktown alone, Cornwallis surrendered to the Continental army. Although defeated, Cornwallis remained popular in England, considered blameless for the loss of the American colonies.  

The public’s trust was confirmed when Cornwallis was appointed Governor-General of India in 1784. Having witnessed the effects of divided colonial government in America, he significantly reduced Indian control of their courts and government. His desire to strengthen British colonial rule remained a guiding principle when he became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1798. Cornwallis died in 1805, having epitomised the forceful approach that characterised the British Empire in the nineteenth century.