See also
Pontiac; Tecumseh
Bibliography
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Be Brave: The Battle of Point Pleasant.” Timeline4,
no. 4 (1987): 2–15.CORNWALLIS, CHARLES
Cornwallis, Charles
(December 31, 1738–October 5, 1805)
English General
T
he aggressive, hard-charging Cornwal-
lis was arguably the most formidable
British battle captain of the American
Revolution. He was a master of set-piece en-
gagements but failed to adjust to the strategic
realities of guerrilla warfare as practiced by
his Continental adversaries. Ultimately de-
feated, he completely rehabilitated his mili-
tary reputation by distinguished service in Ire-
land and India.
Charles Cornwallis was born in London on
December 31, 1738, into an old aristocratic
family. He was educated at Eton and formal-
ized his military training by attending a mili-
tary school in Turin, Italy. Like many young
men of his social class, Cornwallis sought ap-
pointment in the elite First Regiment of Foot
Guards and purchased and ensign’s commis-
sion in 1756. He served with distinction
throughout the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763)
by accompanying the British army into Ger-
many, fought well at Minden in 1756, and be-
friended the controversial George Germain,
Lord Sackville. While on a trip home in 1760,
he was also elected to the lower house of Par-
liament and subsequently gained admittance
to the House of Lords in 1762 following the
death of his father. Cornwallis was serving as
a colonel of the 33rd Regiment of Foot by
1766 when he garnered additional notice as
the aide-de-camp to King George III. Despite
his close ties to the monarchy, Cornwallis was
politically inclined toward the opposition
Whig Party, and he was very sympathetic to-
ward the American colonies. He vociferously
opposed imposition of the Stamp Act in 1765
and actively sought its repeal the following
year. Cornwallis nonetheless remained a fa-
vorite of King George, who appointed him
constable of the Tower of London in 1770 and
a major general in 1775. As a Whig, Cornwallis
opposed British imperial policy toward the
colonies, but when the American Revolution
erupted in April 1775, he felt honor-bound to
his monarch and tendered his services to the
British Empire. Nonetheless, before giving up