Charles Cornwallis

(noun)

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), 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.

Related Terms

Examples of Charles Cornwallis in the following topics:

  • Surrender at Yorktown

    • The combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the comte de Rochambeau resulted in a decisive victory over the British army forces commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis.
    • Cornwallis was shadowed by a force of 4,500 French forces under the command of the Marquis de Lafayette.
    • On October 16, Cornwallis made an unsuccessful attempt to evacuate his troops across the York River to Gloucester Point.
    • Cornwallis did not attend the surrender ceremony, claiming illness.
    • Cornwallis' men were declared prisoners of war and promised good treatment in American camps.

  • Georgia and South Carolina

    • As evidence of this, British General Charles Cornwallis stated in an 1780 message to his superior officer that, "Our assurances of attachment from our poor distressed friends in North Carolina are as strong as ever."
    • Following the victory at Charleston, General Clinton turned over British operations in the South to his second-in-command, Lord Cornwallis.
    • This loss set the stage for Cornwallis to invade North Carolina.
    • The success of Cornwallis in the Carolinas was greatly undermined by Britain's inability to raise large Loyalist armies.

  • Quebec, New York, and New Jersey

    • The victory also drew General Charles Cornwallis from New York.
    • Cornwallis reassembled an army of more than 6,000 men and marched most of them against a position Washington was holding south of Trenton.
    • That night, Washington stealthily moved his troops again, intending to attack the garrison Cornwallis left at Princeton.
    • Cornwallis’ troops were attacked as they attempted to forage for provisions and the Continental Army employed scorched earth tactics to further deny supplies to the British.

  • The War in the West

    • The Battle of Blue Licks was one of the final battles of the American Revolutionary War and occurred 10 months after Lord Charles Cornwallis’ famous surrender at Yorktown, which had effectively ended the war in the east.

  • Charles X and the July Revolution

  • Washington's Escape from New York

    • This action significantly boosted the army's morale, and it also brought Cornwallis out of New York.
    • Leaving a garrison of 1,200 at Princeton, Cornwallis then attacked Washington's position on January 2, and was repulsed three times before darkness set.
    • During the night, Washington once again stealthily moved his army, going around Cornwallis with the intention of attacking the Princeton garrison.

  • Glycocalyx

  • Flagella

  • Fimbrae

  • Glycocalyx and Capsule