march of empires war of lords precise relocation

After British forces failed to take Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island in Charleston, South Carolina, Cornwallis and Clinton headed north to join the forces of General William Howe in New York. Promoted to the rank of major general, Cornwallis left for North America in early 1776 and arrived in the Carolinas that May to reinforce the British southern expedition led by General Henry Clinton. Despite this, he volunteered to command British troops once the Revolutionary War began in April 1775. Amid rising tensions between Britain and its North American colonies, Cornwallis voted against the Stamp Act and other British policies that antagonized the colonists. With his father’s death in 1762, Cornwallis was elevated to become the 2nd Earl of Cornwallis and took his father’s seat in the House of Lords in Parliament.

He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a regimental commander in 1761 and earning a citation for bravery for his performance in the Battle of Vellinghausen.ĭid you know? As Lord Lieutenant and Commander-in-Chief of Ireland, Cornwallis unsuccessfully argued for Catholic emancipation and helped secure passage of the Act of Union, which created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. His own military career began in earnest during the Seven Years’ War when he traveled to Germany and initially served as an aide-de-camp on the staff of the Marquess of Granby. Early Life and Military CareerĬornwallis was born on December 31, 1738, in London, England, into an aristocratic family with a distinguished military pedigree.

Despite suffering a crushing defeat at the Battle of Yorktown, Cornwallis had a celebrated post-war career, serving as governor general of India and lord lieutenant of Ireland.

He led British forces to success in New York and Philadelphia before moving to the war’s southern theater in 1780. Charles Cornwallis was a British army officer who served as a general during the Revolutionary War (also known as the American Revolution).

March of empires war of lords precise relocation