The Marquess Cornwallis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William | |
| In office 30 July 1805 – 5 October 1805 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | William Pitt the Younger |
| Preceded by | The Marquess Wellesley |
| Succeeded by | Sir George Barlow, Bt As Acting Governor-General |
| In office 12 September 1786 – 28 October 1793 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | William Pitt the Younger |
| Preceded by | Sir John Macpherson, Bt As Acting Governor-General |
| Succeeded by | Sir John Shore |
| Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | |
| In office 14 June 1798 – 27 April 1801 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | William Pitt the Younger |
| Preceded by | The Earl Camden |
| Succeeded by | The Earl Hardwicke |
| Member of Parliament forEye | |
| In office 1760–1762 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Townshend |
| Succeeded by | Richard Burton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Edward Cornwallis V (1738-12-31)31 December 1738 Mayfair, London, England |
| Died | 5 October 1805(1805-10-05) (aged 66) |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, incl.Charles |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Military officer,official |
| Awards | Knight Companion ofThe Most Noble Order of the Garter |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Great Britain (1757–1801) United Kingdom (1801–1805) |
| Branch/service | British Army Presidency armies |
| Years of service | 1757–1805 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | India Ireland South-East England |
| Battles/wars | |
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was aBritish Army officer,Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading Britishgeneral officers in theAmerican War of Independence. His surrender in 1781 to a combined Franco-American force at thesiege of Yorktown ended significant hostilities in North America. Cornwallis later served as a civil and military governor in Ireland, where he helped to bring about theAct of Union; and in India, where he helped to enact theCornwallis Code and thePermanent Settlement.
Born into an aristocratic family and educated atEton College and theUniversity of Cambridge, Cornwallis joined the British Army in 1757, seeing action in theSeven Years' War. Upon his father's death in 1762 he succeeded to his peerage and entered theHouse of Lords. From 1766 to 1805 he was colonel of the33rd Regiment of Foot.[1] Cornwallis next saw military action in 1776 in the American War of Independence. Active in the advance forces of many campaigns, in 1780 he inflicted a major defeat on theContinental Army at theBattle of Camden. He also commanded British forces in the March 1781Pyrrhic victory atGuilford Court House. Cornwallis surrendered his army at Yorktown in October 1781 after an extended campaignthrough the Southern colonies, marked by disagreements between him and his superior,Sir Henry Clinton.
Despite this defeat, Cornwallis retained the confidence of successive British governments and continued to enjoy an active career. Knighted in 1786, he was in that year appointed to beGovernor-General and commander-in-chief in India. There he enacted numerous significant reforms within theEast India Company and its territories, including the Cornwallis Code, part of which implemented important land taxation reforms known as the Permanent Settlement. From 1789 to 1792 he led British and Company forces in theThird Anglo-Mysore War to defeat theMysorean rulerTipu Sultan.
Returning to Britain in 1794, Cornwallis was given the post ofMaster-General of the Ordnance. In 1798 he was appointedLord Lieutenant and Commander-in-chief of Ireland, where he oversaw the response to the1798 Irish Rebellion, including a French invasion of Ireland, and was instrumental in bringing about the Union of Great Britain and Ireland. Following his Irish service, Cornwallis was the chief British signatory to the 1802Treaty of Amiens and was reappointed to India in 1805. He died in India not long after his arrival.
Cornwallis was born inGrosvenor Square in London.[2] He was the eldest son ofCharles Cornwallis, 5th Baron Cornwallis.[3] His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter ofCharles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend,[3] and niece ofSir Robert Walpole, the firstBritish prime minister.[4] His uncle,Frederick, wasArchbishop of Canterbury. Frederick's twin brother,Edward, was a military officer, colonial governor and the founder ofHalifax, Nova Scotia.[5] His brotherWilliam became an Admiral in theRoyal Navy.[6] His other brother,James, eventually inherited theearldom from Cornwallis's son,Charles.[4]
The family was established at Brome Hall, nearEye, Suffolk, in the 14th century, and its members would represent thecounty in theHouse of Commons over the next three hundred years.[2][3]Frederick Cornwallis, created aBaronet in 1627, fought forKing Charles I, and followedKing Charles II into exile.[4] He was made Baron Cornwallis, of Eye in the County of Suffolk, in 1661, and by judicious marriages, his descendants increased the importance of his family.[3]
Cornwallis was educated atEton College andClare College, Cambridge. While playinghockey at Eton, his eye was injured by an accidental blow fromShute Barrington, laterBishop of Durham.[7] He obtained his first commission asEnsign in the1st Foot Guards, on 8 December 1757.[8] He then sought and gained permission to engage in military studies abroad. After travelling on the continent with aPrussian officer, Captain de Roguin, he studied at the military academy ofTurin.[9]
Upon completion of his studies in Turin in 1758, he travelled toGeneva, where he learned that British troops were to be sent to North America in theSeven Years' War. Although he tried to reach his regiment before it sailed from theIsle of Wight, he learnt upon reachingCologne that it had already sailed. He managed instead to secure an appointment as a staff officer toLord Granby.[10]
A year later, he participated in theBattle of Minden, a major battle that prevented a French invasion ofHanover. After the battle, he purchased a captaincy in the85th Regiment of Foot. In 1761 he served with the12th Foot and was promoted toBrevet Lieutenant-Colonel. He led his regiment in theBattle of Villinghausen on 15–16 July 1761, and was noted for his gallantry. In 1762 his regiment was involved in heavy fighting during theBattle of Wilhelmsthal. A few weeks later they defeatedSaxon troops at theBattle of Lutterberg and ended the year by participating in thesiege of Cassel.[11]
In January 1760 Cornwallis became a member of Parliament, entering theHouse of Commons for the village of Eye in Suffolk. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl Cornwallis in 1762, which resulted in his elevation to theHouse of Lords.[11] He became a protege of the leadingWhig magnate, the future prime ministerLord Rockingham.[12]
He was one of five peers who voted against the1765 Stamp Act out of sympathy with the colonists.[13] In the following years he maintained a strong degree of support for the colonists during the tensions and crisis that led to theAmerican War of Independence.[14]
On 14 July 1768 he married Jemima Tullekin Jones, daughter of a regimental colonel.[15] The union was, by all accounts, happy. They settled inCulford, Suffolk, where their children, Mary (28 June 1769 – 17 July 1840), andCharles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis (19 October 1774 – 9 August 1823), were born. Jemima died on 14 April 1779.[16]
During the postwar years, Cornwallis remained active in military matters. He became colonel of the33rd Regiment of Foot in 1766.[13] On 29 September 1775 he was promoted to major general. With the outbreak of the war in North America, Cornwallis put his previous misgivings aside and sought active service; proposing an expedition to the southern colonies.[17]
Promoted to lieutenant general in North America, he began his service in 1776 under General SirHenry Clinton with the failedsiege of Charleston. He and Clinton then sailed for New York City, where they participated in GeneralWilliam Howe'scampaign for New York City. Cornwallis was often given a leading role during this campaign; his division was in the lead at theBattle of Long Island, and he chased the retreatingGeorge Washington acrossNew Jersey after the city fell.[18][19] Howe recognised the successful close of the campaign "much to the honor of his lordship and the officers and soldiers under his command."[20]
General Howe granted Cornwallis leave in December 1776; however, it was cancelled after Washington launched hissurprise attack on Trenton on 26 December. Howe ordered Cornwallis to return to New Jersey to deal with Washington.[20] Cornwallis gathered together garrisons scattered across New Jersey and moved them towards Trenton.[21] On 2 January 1777, as he advanced on Trenton, his forces were engaged in extended skirmishing that delayed the army's arrival at Washington's position on theAssunpink Creek until late in the day. Cornwallis was unable to dislodge Washington in theBattle of the Assunpink Creek that followed.[22]
Cornwallis prepared his troops to continue the assault on Washington's position the next day, but critically failed to send out adequate patrols to monitor the Americans. During the night, Washington's forces slipped around Cornwallis's and attacked the British outpost atPrinceton. Washington's success was aided by a deception: he had men maintain blazing campfires and keep up sounds of camp activity during his movement.[23] Cornwallis spent the winter in New York and New Jersey, where the forces under his command were engaged inongoing skirmishes with the Americans.[24]
Cornwallis continued to serve under Howe on hiscampaign for control of the rebel capital,Philadelphia. Cornwallis was again often in an advance role, leading the flanking manoeuvre at theBattle of Brandywine,[25] and playing key roles atGermantown andFort Mercer.[26][27] With the army in winter quarters in Philadelphia, Cornwallis finally returned home for leave.[28] Upon his return in 1778, Howe had been replaced by Clinton as commander in chief, and Cornwallis was now second in command.[29]
The entry ofFrance into the war prompted the British leaders to redeploy their armed forces for a more global war, and Philadelphia was abandoned. Cornwallis commanded the rearguard during the overland withdrawal to New York City and played an important role in theBattle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778. After a surprise attack on the British rearguard, Cornwallis launched a counter-attack which checked the enemy advance.[30] Even though Clinton praised Cornwallis for his performance at Monmouth, he eventually came to blame him for failing to win the day.[31] In November 1778 Cornwallis once more returned to England to be with his ailing wife Jemima, who died in February 1779.[32]
Cornwallis returned to America in July 1779, where he was to play a central role as the lead commander of the British "Southern strategy" (which was to invade the south on the assumption that a significantly more Loyalist population would rise up and assist in putting the rebellion down).[33] At the end of 1779, Henry Clinton and Cornwallis transported a large force south and initiated thesecond siege of Charleston during the spring of 1780, which resulted in the surrender of the Continental forces underBenjamin Lincoln.[34] After the siege of Charleston and the destruction ofAbraham Buford's Virginia regiments atWaxhaw, Clinton returned to New York, leaving Cornwallis in command in the south.[35][36] The relationship between Clinton and Cornwallis had noticeably soured during the Charleston campaign, and they were barely on speaking terms when Clinton left.[37]
The task Clinton left Cornwallis with was to, first and foremost, preserve the gains made by taking Charleston, and only then engage in offensive moves.[38] Clinton's orders gave Cornwallis wide latitude in how to achieve the goal of pacifying both South and North Carolina, after which Clinton expected Cornwallis to move intoVirginia. Clinton wrote, "I should wish you to assist in operations which will certainly be carried on in the Chesapeake as soon as we are relieve from our apprehension of a superior fleet and the season will admit ..."[39]
Clinton provided Cornwallis with a relatively modest force of British, German, and provincial (Loyalist) regiments—about 3,000 men—with which to accomplish all of this.[40] The forces he was given to accomplish this were limited by the necessity of keeping a large British force in New York under Clinton to shadow Washington. Cornwallis was expected to recruit more Loyalists, who were believed to be more numerous in the southern colonies.[33]
Cornwallis established a series of outposts in South Carolina, but keeping communication and supply lines open was an ongoing challenge. Supplies not available locally (like uniforms, camp gear, arms, and ammunition) were delivered all too infrequently, supply ships were frequent targets of localprivateers, and bad weather impeded the work.[41] In order to help provide fresh food and forage for his troops, Cornwallis established two commissioners. The first was responsible for administering goods confiscated from Patriots (he avoided confiscating supplies from Loyalists since he depended on them for manpower and intelligence), and the second for administering land that was confiscated.[42]
A chronic shortage of hard currency (another supply only infrequently delivered to Charleston) made it difficult to purchase supplies from any source, either Patriot or Loyalist.[42] Cornwallis also attempted to reestablish civil authority under British or Loyalist oversight. Although these attempts met with limited success, they were continually undermined by Patriot activity, both political and military, and the indifferent abuses of British and Loyalist forces. Patriot militia companies constantly harassed Loyalists, small British units, and supply and communication lines.[43][44]
In August 1780 Cornwallis's forces met a larger but relatively untried army under the command ofHoratio Gates at theBattle of Camden, where they inflicted heavy casualties and routed part of the force.[45][46] This served to keep South Carolina clear of Continental forces, and was a blow to rebel morale.[47] The victory added to his reputation, although the rout of the American rebels had as much to do with the failings of Gates (whose rapid departure from the battlefield was widely noted) as it did the skill of Cornwallis.[48][49] In London, Cornwallis was perceived as a hero, and was viewed by many there as the right man to lead the British forces to victory over the rebels.[50]
As the opposition seemed to melt away, Cornwallis optimistically began to advance north into North Carolina while militia activity continued to harass the troops he left in South Carolina.[51] Attempts by Cornwallis to rally Loyalist support were dealt significant blows when a large gathering of them wasdefeated at Kings Mountain,[52] only a day's march from Cornwallis and his army,[53] and another large detachment of his army wasdecisively defeated at Cowpens.[54] He then clashed with the rebuilt Continental army under GeneralNathanael Greene atGuilford Court House in North Carolina, winning a Pyrrhic victory with a bayonet charge against a numerically superior enemy.[55] In the battle he controversially orderedgrape shot to be fired into a mass of combat that resulted in friendly casualties but helped to break the American line.[56]
Cornwallis then moved his forces toWilmington on the coast to resupply. Cornwallis himself had generally been successful in his battles, but the constant marching and the losses incurred had shrunk and tired out his army.[57] Greene, whose army was still intact after the loss at Guilford Courthouse, shadowed Cornwallis toward Wilmington, but then crossed into South Carolina, where over the course of several months American forces regained control over most of the state.[58]
Cornwallis received dispatches in Wilmington informing him that anotherBritish army under GeneralsWilliam Phillips andBenedict Arnold had been sent toVirginia. Believing that North Carolina could not be subdued unless its supply lines from Virginia were cut, he decided to join forces with Phillips.[59]
Upon his arrival in Virginia Cornwallis took command of Phillips' army. Phillips, a personal friend of Cornwallis, died one week before Cornwallis reached his position atPetersburg.[60] He then sought to fulfil orders Clinton had given to Phillips, and raided the Virginia countryside, destroying American military and economic targets.[61]
In March 1781, in response to the threat posed by Arnold and Phillips, General Washington dispatched theMarquis de Lafayette to defend Virginia.[62] The young Frenchman had 3,200 men at his command, but British troops under Cornwallis's command totalled 7,200.[61][63] Lafayette skirmished with Cornwallis, avoiding a decisive battle while gathering reinforcements. It was during this period that Cornwallis and Clinton exchanged a series of letters in which Clinton issued a number of confusing, contradictory, and not entirely forceful orders.[64]
Cornwallis eventually received firm orders from Clinton to choose a position on theVirginia Peninsula—referred to in contemporary letters as the "Williamsburg Neck"—and construct a fortified naval post to shelterships of the line.[65] In complying with this order, Cornwallis put himself in a position to become trapped in the area ofYorktown. With the arrival of the French fleet under theComte de Grasse and General Washington's combined French-American army, Cornwallis found himself cut off. After theRoyal Navy fleet under AdmiralThomas Graves was defeated by the French at theBattle of the Chesapeake, and the Frenchsiege train arrived fromNewport, Rhode Island, his position became untenable.[66]
He surrendered after aboutthree weeks' siege to General Washington and the French commander, theComte de Rochambeau, on 19 October 1781.[67] Cornwallis, apparently not wanting to face Washington, claimed to be ill on the day of the surrender, and sent Brigadier GeneralCharles O'Hara in his place to surrender his sword formally. Washington had his second-in-command, Major GeneralBenjamin Lincoln, accept Cornwallis's sword.[68]
Cornwallis returned to Europe withBenedict Arnold, and they were cheered when they landed in Britain on 21 January 1782.[69] His surrender did not mark the end of the war, though it ended major fighting in the American theatre. Because he was released on parole, Cornwallis refused to serve again until the war came to an end in 1783. An attempt failed to exchange him for[70]Henry Laurens, an American diplomat who was released from theTower of London in anticipation that Cornwallis would be freed from his parole.[71]
His tactics in America, especially during the southern campaign, were a frequent subject of criticism by his political enemies in London, principally General Clinton, who tried to blame him for the failures of the southern campaign.[72] This led to an exchange of pamphlets between the two men in which Cornwallis had much the better of the argument.[73] Cornwallis also retained the confidence ofGeorge III and theShelburne ministry, but he was placed in a financially precarious state by his inability to be on active duty.[74]
In August 1785 he was sent toPrussia as an ambassador to the court ofFrederick the Great to sound out a possible alliance.[75] He attended manoeuvres along with theDuke of York where they encountered his old opponent Lafayette.[76] In October 1785 Cornwallis wrote dismissively of Prussian military manoeuvres while in Hanover, writing that: ''Their manoeuvres were such as the worst General in England would be hooted at for practising; two lines coming up within six yards of one another, and firing in one another's faces till they had no ammunition left: nothing could be more ridiculous.''[77]
In 1786 Cornwallis was made aKnight Companion of theMost Noble Order of the Garter.[78] The same year he accepted appointment asGovernor-General and commander in chief inIndia. He had in 1782 been offered the governor-generalship only, but refused the post until he also received military command as well.[79]
Cornwallis engaged in reforms of all types, that affected many areas of civil, military, and corporate administration. According to historian Jerry Dupont, Cornwallis was responsible for "laying the foundation for British rule throughout India and setting standards for the services, courts and revenue collection that remained remarkably unaltered almost to the end of the British era."[80] He also enacted important reforms in the operations of theBritish East India Company.[81] Cornwallis had been sent to India with instructions to avoid war in the sub-continent and was largely successful in this, though he had to abandon his non-interventionism to engage in war with theKingdom of Mysore when they attacked British allies.[82]
Prior to Cornwallis's tenure, company employees were allowed to trade on their own accounts and use company ships to send their own goods back to Europe. This practice was tolerated when the company was profitable, but by the 1780s the company's finances were not in good shape. Cornwallis eliminated the practice, increasing employee salaries in compensation. He also worked to reduce nepotism and political favouritism, instituting the practice ofmerit-based advancement.[83]
Criminal and civil justice systems in the company's territories were a confusing overlay of legal systems, jurisdictions, and methods of administration. Cornwallis had the company take over the few remaining judicial powers of theNawab of Bengal, the titular local ruler of much of theBengal Presidency, and gave some judicial powers to company employees. In 1790 he introducedcircuit courts with company employees as judges, and set up a court of appeals inCalcutta. He had the legal frameworks ofMuslim andHindu law translated into English, and promulgated administrative regulations and a new civil and criminal code in 1793, which became known as theCornwallis Code.[84]
Cornwallis also began a policy of excluding Indians from the senior administrative and military roles of British India; on 19 April 1791, he issued a standing order which stated that "No person, the son of a Native Indian, shall henceforward be appointed by this Court to Employment in the Civil, Military, or Marine Service of the Company." The American historian Franklin Bacon Wickwire argued that through this policy Cornwallis "institutionalized racism". He also prevented the sons of European fathers and Indian mothers from becoming army officers, writing that "as on account of their colour & extraction they are considered in this country as inferior to Europeans, I am of opinion that those of them who possess the best abilities could not command that authority and respect which is necessary in the due discharge of the duty of an officer."[85]
Cornwallis's attitude toward the lower classes did, however, include a benevolent and somewhat paternalistic desire to improve their condition. He introduced legislation to protect native weavers who were sometimes forced into working at starvation wages by unscrupulous company employees, outlawed child slavery, and established in 1791 a Sanskrit college for Hindus that is now theGovernment Sanskrit College inBenares.[86] He also established amint in Calcutta that, in addition to benefiting the poor by providing a reliable standard currency, was a forerunner of India's modern currency.[87]
Part of the Cornwallis Code was an important land taxation reform known in India as thePermanent Settlement. This reform permanently altered the way the company collected taxes in its territories, by taxing landowners (known aszamindars) based on the value of their land and not necessarily the value of its produce. In the minds of Cornwallis and its architects, the reforms would also protect land tenants (ryots) from the abusive practices of the zamindars intended to maximise production. Cornwallis, a landed gentleman himself, especially believed that a class of landed gentry would naturally concern themselves with the improvement of the lands, thus also improving the condition of its tenants.[88] Nevertheless, the Permanent Settlement effectively left the peasants at the mercy of the landowners. While the Company fixed the land revenue to be paid by the landowners, the zamindars were left free to extract as much as they could from the peasantry[89]
Cornwallis had been sent to India with instructions to avoid conflict with the company's neighbours. Early in his tenure, he abrogated agreements with theMaratha Empire and theNizam of Hyderabad that he saw as violating the 1784Treaty of Mangalore that ended theSecond Anglo-Mysore War. This ensured the company's non-involvement in theMaratha-Mysore War (1785–1787).[90] He was, however, manoeuvred into the establishment of a new company based atPenang (in present-dayMalaysia), where conflict was avoided when he agreed to pay a stipend to the local rajah for use of the base.Fort Cornwallis in Penang is named for Cornwallis.[91]
The King ofNepal appealed to Cornwallis in 1792 for military assistance. Cornwallis declined the king's request, sending instead ColonelWilliam Kirkpatrick to mediate the dispute. Kirkpatrick was the first Englishman to see Nepal; by the time he reachedKathmandu in 1793, the parties had already resolved their dispute.[92][93]
The company was unavoidably drawn into war with Mysore in 1790.Tipu Sultan, Mysore's ruler, had expressed contempt for the British not long after signing the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore, and also expressed a desire to renew conflict with them.[90] In late 1789he invaded theKingdom of Travancore, a company ally according to that treaty, because of territorial disputes and Travancore's harbouring of refugees from other Mysorean actions. Cornwallis ordered company and Crown troops tomobilise in response. The 1790 campaign against Tipu was conducted by GeneralWilliam Medows, and it was a limited success. Medows successfully occupied theCoimbatore district, but Tipu counterattacked and was able to reduce the British position to a small number of strongly held outposts. Tipu then invaded theCarnatic, where he attempted unsuccessfully to draw the French into the conflict. Because of Medows' weak campaigning, Cornwallis personally took command of the British forces in 1791.[94]
When the war broke out, Cornwallis negotiated alliances with the Marathas and Hyderabad.[95][96] Cornwallis ascended theEastern Ghats to reach theDeccan Plateau in February 1791.[97] After successfullybesieging Bangalore, Cornwallis then joined forces with Hyderabadi forces that he described as "extremely defective in almost every point of military discipline", and their presence in the army ultimately presented more difficulties than assistance.[98] These forces then marched toward the Mysorean capital atSeringapatam, compelling Tipu to retreat into the city at theBattle of Arakere on 15 May. Dwindling provisions, exacerbated by Tipu's slash-and-burn tactics, forced Cornwallis to abandon the idea of besieging Seringapatam that season, so he retreated to Bangalore.[99][100]
In January 1792 the army, now well-provisioned, set out for Seringapatam. Arriving before the city on 5 February, Cornwallis quickly eliminated Tipu's defensive positions outside the city, and thenbegan siege operations. Tipu requested negotiations on 23 February, andpeace was agreed on 18 March. Cornwallis and his allies demanded the cession of half of the Mysorean territory, much of which went to the allies. As a guarantee of Tipu's performance, two of his sons were delivered to Cornwallis as hostages.[101] Cornwallis and other British commanders, in a move appreciated by their soldiers, donated prize money awarded them to be distributed among the rank and file.[102]
For his success in conducting the war, Cornwallis was createdMarquess Cornwallis in 1792,[103] although he did not learn of it until the following year.[104] He departed for England in October 1793, and was succeeded bySir John Shore.[105]
Upon his return to Britain in 1794, he found it militarily engaged in theFrench Revolutionary Wars. After he was sent on an ultimately fruitless diplomatic mission to stop the fighting, he was appointedMaster of the Ordnance, a post he held until 1798.[106] In this position he was responsible for much of the British Army's military infrastructure, overseeing its storage depots and supply infrastructure, as well as commanding its artillery and engineering forces. He oversaw improvements to Britain's coastal defences, and was able to expandWoolwich Academy's artillery training program to address a significant shortage of qualified artillery officers. His attempts to significantly reform the military were hampered by the ongoing war.[107]
In June 1798 he was appointedLord Lieutenant of Ireland andCommander-in-Chief, Ireland. His appointment, which had been discussed as early as 1797, was made in response to the outbreak in late May of theIrish Rebellion of 1798.[108] His appointment was greeted unfavourably by the Irish elite, who preferred his predecessorLord Camden, and suspected he had liberal sympathies with the predominantly Catholic rebels. However, he struck up a good working relationship withLord Castlereagh, whom he had appointed as Chief Secretary for Ireland.[109]
In his combined role as both Lord Lieutenant and Commander-in-Chief of theRoyal Irish Army Cornwallis oversaw the defeat of both the Irish rebels and a French invasion force led by GeneralJean Humbert that landed inConnacht in August 1798. Panicked by the landing and the subsequent British defeat at theBattle of Castlebar, Pitt despatched thousands of reinforcements to Ireland, swelling British forces there to 60,000.[110] The French invaders were defeated and forced to surrender at theBattle of Ballinamuck, after which Cornwallis ordered the execution by lot of a number of Irish rebels.[111] During the autumn Cornwallis secured government control over most of the island, and organised the suppression of the remaining supporters of the United Irish movement.
Cornwallis was also instrumental in securing passage in 1800 of theAct of Union by theParliament of Ireland, a necessary step in the creation of theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.[112] The process, which essentially required the buying of Parliamentary votes through patronage and the granting of peerages, was one that Cornwallis found quite distasteful: he wrote "My occupation is now of the most unpleasant nature, negotiating and jobbing with the most corrupt people under heaven. I despise and hate myself every hour for engaging in such dirty work, and am supported only by the reflection that without a Union the British Empire must be dissolved."[113] Although Cornwallis recognised that the union with Ireland was unlikely to succeed withoutCatholic emancipation, he and William Pitt were unable to move King George on the subject. Pitt consequently resigned, and Cornwallis also resigned his offices, returning to London in May 1801.[114]
Expecting an opportunity to relax at home, Cornwallis was instead despatched not long after his return to take command ofEastern District with orders to lead the defences of eastern Britain against a threatened French invasion.[115] Cornwallis was then sent to France to finalise peace terms withBonaparte. The peace negotiations were made possible in Britain by financial pressure brought on by theongoing wars and by Bonaparte's desire to consolidate his hold on the Continent. Pitt's resignation broughtHenry Addington to power, and he appointed Cornwallis asplenipotentiary minister to France.[116]
The negotiations resulted in theTreaty of Amiens, which Cornwallis signed on behalf of the United Kingdom on 25 March 1802.[117] The treaty ended theWar of the Second Coalition, but the peace was short-lived. Actions by Bonaparte over the next year alarmed the other European powers, and the United Kingdom refused to withdraw forces fromMalta as specified in the treaty. By May 1803war was again declared. Cornwallis is often seen as being partially responsible for conceding too much in the negotiations, although much had already been granted to France in the preliminary negotiations.[118]
In 1805 Cornwallis was reappointed Governor-General of India by Pitt (who had again become prime minister), this time to curb the expansionist activity ofLord Wellesley (older brother of ColonelArthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington).[119] He arrived in India in July 1805, and died on 5 October of a fever atGauspur inGhazipur, at that time in theVaranasi kingdom.[120] Cornwallis was buried there, overlooking theGanges River,[121] where his memorial is a protected monument maintained by theArchaeological Survey of India.[122] There is also a memorial to him inSt Paul's Cathedral.[123]
His son Charles became the2nd Marquess. Having five daughters but no sons, the marquessate became extinct on his death, but he was succeeded in his remaining titles by his uncle, the brother of the general, the Right ReverendJames Cornwallis.[4]
Cornwallis appears in the 1835 novelHorse-Shoe Robinson byJohn Pendleton Kennedy, a historical romance set against the background of the Southern campaigns in the American War of Independence, and interacts with the fictional characters in the book. He is depicted as courtly in manner, but tolerant, or even supportive, of brutal practices against those found deficient among his own forces, and against enemy prisoners. In the 2000 filmThe Patriot about the events leading up to Yorktown, Cornwallis was portrayed by English actorTom Wilkinson.[124]
In Ireland his legacy also includes the Wicklow Military Road (now theR115) through theWicklow Mountains.[125] Fictional accounts of the rebellion, such asThe Year of the French byThomas Flanagan, feature Cornwallis. In India, he is remembered for his victory against Tipu Sultan in the Mysore war and his promulgation of revenue and judicial acts.Fort Cornwallis, founded in 1786 inGeorge Town,Prince of Wales Island (now the island part of the Malaysian state ofPenang), is named for him.[91]
The coastal township ofCornwallis, New Zealand, was named after him by his nephew,William Cornwallis Symonds.[126] A building is named after him at theUniversity of Kent, as are boarding houses at theRoyal Hospital School andCulford School in Suffolk. Statues of Cornwallis can be seen inSt. Paul's Cathedral, London, Fort Museum,Fort St. George, Chennai, and in theVictoria Memorial,Kolkata.[127][128] The public house "The Marquis of Cornwallis" inLayham, Suffolk, was named after him.[129] Roads named after him include Cornwallis Street in Liverpool, Cornwallis Road in theLondon Borough of Islington, and Cornwallis Road in Oxford.[130][131][132]
Cornwallis was the recipient of the first British commemorative statue sent to the Indian subcontinent. On his retirement in 1792, and in celebration of his victory over Tipu Sultan, the British residents of Madras (renamed Chennai in 1996) voted in May that year to commission a portrait in oils, and a statue, for their city.[133] A request was sent, through Sir John Call, to the Council of the Royal Academy in London to hold a competition. Only one artist submitted a model, and that wasThomas Banks, RA. The statue was unveiled on the Parade Grounds ofFort St. George, Madras, on 15 May 1800, after being exhibited at the Royal Academy. The eight-foot-tall marble with its pedestal base depicts the children of Tipu Sultan being handed over to Cornwallis as part of the treaty to end the war. Cornwallis wears the robes of a Garter Knight.[134] After Independence, the statue was moved to the Reading Room of the Connemara Library, Madras, before it was transferred to the entrance of the Fort Museum in 1948.[135]
The first British statue to be erected in Calcutta, the capital of British India, was also to Cornwallis. The marble portrait statue, with figures ofFortitude andTruth on each side of the plinth's base, was completed by John Bacon Jr., and was a variant of the statue finished by John Bacon Sr. forEast India House in London. In this work, Cornwallis appears as a hero wearing a Roman kilt and carrying a sheathed short sword. A cornucopia symbolising the abundance pouring into the coffers of the East India Company (EIC) is behind the left foot.[136]
A third statue, for Bombay, was commissioned from the studios of John Bacon Jr. Bacon was paid £5250 for the standing figure, which portrayed Cornwallis wearing an officer's tailcoat, breeches, brocade and an immense cloak. The statue was covered by a protective cupola on Elphinstone Circle, before it was damaged in August 1965 and removed to the grounds of the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Byculla, Bombay.[137]
The last memorial erected to Cornwallis in British India was hismausoleum at Ghazipur, completed in 1824 and funded by a public subscription raised by the people of Bengal. Designed by Thomas Fraser, the free-standing marble cenotaph, topped by a funerary urn, was created byJohn Flaxman, RA. It was commissioned by the Court of Directors of the East India Company at a General Meeting held in February 1822. Flaxman completed the work in March 1824 and it was shipped to India in April. Flaxman received £525 for his portrait medallion of Cornwallis, carved in relief for two of the four panels. The two others have a figure of a Hindu and Muslim, heads bowed in mourning (a typical motif for Flaxman). The reverse has a figure of a British soldier and an Indiansepoy, also in mourning.[138]
| Ensign,British Army | 1756 |
| Captain,British Army | 1759 |
| Lieutenant-Colonel,British Army | 1761 |
| Colonel,British Army | 1766 |
| Major-General,British Army | 1775 |
| Lieutenant-General,British Army | 1777 |
| General,British Army | 1793 |
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