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73-681: DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb : Johan DeKalb Kalb was born in Hüttendorf, a German village near Erlangen , Principality of Bayreuth , the son of Johann Leonhard Kalb and Margarethe Seitz. He learned French, English, and the social skills to earn a substantial military commission in the Loewendal German Regiment of

146-785: A Sanskrit college for Hindus that is now the Government Sanskrit College in Benares . He also established a mint in Calcutta that, in addition to benefiting the poor by providing a reliable standard currency, was a forerunner of India's modern currency. Part of the Cornwallis Code was an important land taxation reform known in India as the Permanent Settlement . This reform permanently altered

219-466: A captaincy in the 85th Regiment of Foot . In 1761, he served with the 12th Foot and was promoted to Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel. He led his regiment in the Battle of Villinghausen on 15–16 July 1761, and was noted for his gallantry. In 1762 his regiment was involved in heavy fighting during the Battle of Wilhelmsthal . A few weeks later they defeated Saxon troops at the Battle of Lutterberg and ended

292-603: A class of landed gentry would naturally concern themselves with the improvement of the lands, thus also improving the condition of its tenants. 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 Cornwallis had been sent to India with instructions to avoid conflict with

365-453: A conception. One of them is the mutual jealousy of almost all the French officers, particularly against those of higher rank than the rest. These people think of nothing but their incessant intrigues and backbitings. They hate each other like the bitterest enemies, and endeavor to injure each other wherever an opportunity offers. I have given up their society, and very seldom see them. La Fayette

438-482: 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. Cornwallis eventually received firm orders from Clinton to choose a position on the Virginia Peninsula —referred to in contemporary letters as the "Williamsburg Neck"—and construct

511-520: A fortified naval post to shelter ships of the line . In complying with this order, Cornwallis put himself in a position to become trapped in the area of Yorktown . With the arrival of the French fleet under the Comte de Grasse and General Washington's combined French-American army, Cornwallis found himself cut off. After the Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves was defeated by the French at

584-507: A guarantee of Tipu's performance, two of his sons were delivered to Cornwallis as hostages. 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. For his success in conducting the war, Cornwallis was created Marquess Cornwallis in 1792, although he did not learn of it until the following year. He departed for England in October 1793, and

657-679: A new civil and criminal code. This work, introduced in 1793, was known as the Cornwallis Code . One consequence of the code was that it instituted a type of racism, placing the British as an elite class on top of the complex status hierarchy of caste and religion that existed in India at the time. Cornwallis held racist views, in a manner common at the time; of mixed European-Indians, he wrote, "...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

730-678: A personal friend of Cornwallis, died one week before Cornwallis reached his position at Petersburg . He then sought to fulfill orders Clinton had given to Phillips, and raided the Virginia countryside, destroying American military and economic targets. In March 1781, in response to the threat posed by Arnold and Phillips, General Washington dispatched the Marquis de Lafayette to defend Virginia. The young Frenchman had 3,200 men at his command, but British troops under Cornwallis's command totalled 7,200. Lafayette skirmished with Cornwallis, avoiding

803-467: Is the sole exception; I always meet him with the same cordiality and the same pleasure. He is an excellent young man, and we are good friends ... La Fayette is much liked, he is on the best of terms with Washington. Kalb was assigned to command a division of Maryland and Delaware troops, and he was ordered south to the Carolinas in command of these reinforcements. During the British southern campaign, he

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876-721: The 1765 Stamp Act out of sympathy with the colonists. In the following years, he maintained a strong degree of support for the colonists during the tensions and crisis that led to the War of Independence . On 14 July 1768, he married Jemima Tullekin Jones, daughter of a regimental colonel. The union was, by all accounts, happy. They settled in Culford, Suffolk , where their children, Mary (28 June 1769 – 17 July 1840), and Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis (19 October 1774 – 9 August 1823) were born. Jemima died on 14 April 1779. During

949-576: The Battle of Camden . He also commanded British forces in the March 1781 Pyrrhic victory at Guilford Court House . Cornwallis surrendered his army at Yorktown in October 1781 after an extended campaign through 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

1022-892: The Battle of the Chesapeake , and the French siege train arrived from Newport, Rhode Island , his position became untenable. He surrendered after about three weeks' siege to General Washington and the French commander, the Comte de Rochambeau , on 19 October 1781. Cornwallis, apparently not wanting to face Washington, claimed to be ill on the day of the surrender, and sent Brigadier General Charles O'Hara in his place to surrender his sword formally. Washington had his second-in-command, Major General Benjamin Lincoln , accept Cornwallis's sword. Cornwallis returned to Britain with Benedict Arnold , and they were cheered when they landed in Britain on 21 January 1782. His surrender did not mark

1095-882: The French Army in 1743. Kalb served with distinction in the War of the Austrian Succession in Flanders . During the Seven Years' War , he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and made assistant quartermaster general in the Army of the Upper Rhine, a division created by the disbanding of the Loewendal Regiment. He was awarded the Order of Military Merit in 1763 and elevated to the nobility with

1168-586: The French Revolution without children. In 1768, Kalb traveled to North America on a covert mission from the Duc de Choiseul , the Foreign Minister of France , to determine the level of discontent among colonists towards Great Britain, a major French adversary. During his four-month trip, Kalb gained respect for the colonists and their "spirit of independence", producing detailed reports for

1241-670: The Knights of Columbus , a Catholic fraternal order, established the Baron DeKalb Council #1073 in 1906. His portrait was painted posthumously by Charles Willson Peale , who was best known for his paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution. In 1886, a monument to Kalb was erected on the grounds of the Maryland state house to honor his contributions to the American Revolution. Two warships of

1314-595: The Mysorean ruler Tipu Sultan . Returning to Britain in 1794, Cornwallis was given the post of Master-General of the Ordnance . In 1798 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant and Commander-in-chief of Ireland, where he oversaw the response to the 1798 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

1387-452: The Seven Years' War . Although he tried to reach his regiment before it sailed from the Isle of Wight , he learnt upon reaching Cologne that it had already sailed. He managed instead to secure an appointment as a staff officer to Lord Granby . A year later, he participated in the Battle of Minden , a major battle that prevented a French invasion of Hanover . After the battle, he purchased

1460-747: The U.S. Navy were named after him: the Civil War river ironclad USS Baron DeKalb and the World War I troop transport USS DeKalb . An American elementary school run by the U.S. Department of Defense in Nuremberg , Germany was named for him; it closed in the 1990s. Since 2006, the Major General Baron DeKalb Army Reserve Center hosts the headquarters of the 200th Military Police Command at Fort Meade , Maryland. In Camden, South Carolina, outside

1533-575: The county in the House of Commons over the next three hundred years. Frederick Cornwallis , created a Baronet in 1627, fought for King Charles I , and followed King Charles II into exile. 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. Cornwallis was educated at Eton College and Clare College, Cambridge . While playing hockey at Eton, his eye

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1606-653: The British forces in 1791. When the war broke out, Cornwallis negotiated alliances with the Marathas and Hyderabad. Cornwallis ascended the Eastern Ghats to reach the Deccan Plateau in February 1791. After successfully besieging 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

1679-516: The British outpost at Princeton . Washington's success was aided by a deception: he had men maintain blazing campfires and keep up sounds of camp activity during his movement. Cornwallis spent the winter in New York and New Jersey, where the forces under his command were engaged in ongoing skirmishes with the Americans. Cornwallis continued to serve under Howe on his campaign for control of

1752-451: The Chesapeake as soon as we are relieve from our apprehension of a superior fleet and the season will admit ..." 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. 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

1825-467: The French government; upon his return to Europe, he expressed a strong desire to go back to colonial America and join their nascent fight against the British. In July 1777, Kalb returned to North America with his protégé, the Marquis de Lafayette , and joined the Continental Army. He was disappointed and angry to learn that he would not be made a major general, but with Lafayette's influence

1898-570: The Revolutionary War Visitor Center, is a statue of de Kalb to commemorate his bravery in the Battle of Camden . Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis , KG , PC (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and the United Kingdom, he is best known as one of

1971-543: The army in 1757, seeing action in the Seven Years' War . Upon his father's death in 1762 he succeeded to his peerage and entered the House of Lords . From 1766 until 1805, he was colonel of the 33rd Regiment of Foot . 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 the Continental Army at

2044-468: The army ultimately presented more difficulties than assistance. These forces then marched toward the Mysorean capital at Seringapatam , compelling Tipu to retreat into the city at the Battle 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. In January 1792

2117-572: The army's arrival at Washington's position on the Assunpink Creek until late in the day. Cornwallis was unable to dislodge Washington in the Battle of the Assunpink Creek that followed. 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

2190-406: 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 then began siege operations . Tipu requested negotiations on 23 February, and peace 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

2263-472: The best abilities could not command that authority and respect which is necessary in the due discharge of the duty of an officer." 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

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2336-594: The campaign "much to the honor of his lordship and the officers and soldiers under his command." General Howe granted Cornwallis leave in December 1776; however, it was cancelled after Washington launched his surprise attack on Trenton on 26 December. Howe ordered Cornwallis to return to New Jersey to deal with Washington. Cornwallis gathered together garrisons scattered across New Jersey and moved them towards Trenton. On 2 January 1777, as he advanced on Trenton, his forces were engaged in extended skirmishing that delayed

2409-411: 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. 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

2482-612: The company take over the few remaining judicial powers of the Nawab of Bengal , the titular local ruler of much of the Bengal Presidency , and gave some judicial powers to company employees. In 1790 he introduced circuit courts with company employees as judges, and set up a court of appeals in Calcutta . He had the legal frameworks of Muslim and Hindu law translated into English, and promulgated administrative regulations and

2555-695: The company's neighbours. Early in his tenure, he abrogated agreements with the Maratha Empire and the Nizam of Hyderabad that he saw as violating the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore that ended the Second Anglo-Mysore War . This ensured the company's non-involvement in the Maratha-Mysore War (1785–1787). He was, however, manoeuvred into the establishment of a new company based at Penang (in present-day Malaysia ), where conflict

2628-453: The day. In November 1778, Cornwallis once more returned to England to be with his ailing wife Jemima, who died in February 1779. 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

2701-439: The death I always prayed for: the death of a soldier fighting for the rights of man." He died three days later. Upon visiting de Kalb's grave several years after his death, George Washington is reported to have said: So, there lies the brave de Kalb. The generous stranger, who came from a distant land to fight our battles and to water with his blood the tree of liberty . Would to God he had lived to share its fruits! De Kalb

2774-553: The end of the British era." He also enacted important reforms in the operations of the British East India Company and, with the notable exception of the Kingdom of Mysore , managed to keep the company out of military conflicts during his tenure. 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

2847-574: 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 Henry Laurens , an American diplomat who was released from the Tower of London in anticipation that Cornwallis would be freed from his parole. His tactics in America, especially during

2920-491: The failed siege of Charleston . He and Clinton then sailed for New York City , where they participated in General William Howe's campaign for New York City . Cornwallis was often given a leading role during this campaign; his division was in the lead at the Battle of Long Island , and he chased the retreating George Washington across New Jersey after the city fell. Howe recognized the successful close of

2993-462: The governor-generalship only, but refused the post until he also received military command as well. 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

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3066-450: The indifferent abuses of British and Loyalist forces. Patriot militia companies constantly harassed Loyalists, small British units, and supply and communication lines. In August 1780 Cornwallis's forces met a larger but relatively untried army under the command of Horatio Gates at the Battle of Camden , where they inflicted heavy casualties and routed part of the force. This served to keep South Carolina clear of Continental forces, and

3139-740: The leading British general officers in the American War of Independence . His surrender in 1781 to a combined American and French force at the siege of Yorktown ended significant hostilities in North America. Cornwallis later served as a civil and military governor in Ireland, where he helped bring about the Act of Union ; and in India, where he helped enact the Cornwallis Code and the Permanent Settlement . Born into an aristocratic family and educated at Eton and Cambridge , Cornwallis joined

3212-485: 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. Attempts by Cornwallis to rally Loyalist support were dealt significant blows when a large gathering of them was defeated at Kings Mountain , only a day's march from Cornwallis and his army, and another large detachment of his army

3285-595: The parties had already resolved their dispute. 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. In late 1789 he invaded the Kingdom 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 to mobilize in response . The 1790 campaign against Tipu

3358-469: The postwar years, Cornwallis remained active in military matters. He became colonel of the 33rd Regiment of Foot in 1766. 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. Promoted to lieutenant general in North America, he began his service in 1776 under General Sir Henry Clinton with

3431-512: The rebel capital, Philadelphia . Cornwallis was again often in an advance role, leading the flanking manoeuvre at the Battle of Brandywine , and playing key roles at Germantown and Fort Mercer . With the army in winter quarters in Philadelphia, Cornwallis finally returned home for leave. Upon his return in 1778, Howe had been replaced by Clinton as commander in chief, and Cornwallis was now second in command. The entry of France into

3504-488: The rebellion down). At the end of 1779, Henry Clinton and Cornwallis transported a large force south and initiated the second siege of Charleston during the spring of 1780, which resulted in the surrender of the Continental forces under Benjamin Lincoln . After the siege of Charleston and the destruction of Abraham Buford 's Virginia regiments at Waxhaw , Clinton returned to New York, leaving Cornwallis in command in

3577-667: The south. The relationship between Clinton and Cornwallis had noticeably soured during the Charleston campaign, and they were barely on speaking terms when Clinton left. 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. 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 into Virginia . Clinton wrote, "I should wish you to assist in operations which will certainly be carried on in

3650-474: 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. This led to an exchange of pamphlets between the two men in which Cornwallis had much the better of the argument. Cornwallis also retained the confidence of King George III and the government of the earl of Shelburne , but he

3723-464: The state. Cornwallis received dispatches in Wilmington informing him that another British army under Generals William Phillips and Benedict Arnold had been sent to Virginia . Believing that North Carolina could not be subdued unless its supply lines from Virginia were cut, he decided to join forces with Phillips. On arrival in Virginia, Cornwallis took command of Phillips' army. Phillips,

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3796-647: The title of baron . In 1764, Kalb resigned from the army and married Anna Elizabeth Emilie van Robais, the French heiress to a fortune from cloth manufacturing. He bought the Milon-la-Chapelle chateau near Versailles , where he took up a quiet life of farming. He had three children: Élie, Frederic, and Caroline; Eli later married Elise Signard d'Ouffières and have a daughter, Nicette de Kalb, who married Raymond de Vandière de Vitrac d'Abzac, and continued to live in Milon la Chapelle; Frederic would die during

3869-524: 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 the Battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778. After a surprise attack on the British rearguard, Cornwallis launched a counter-attack which checked the enemy advance. Even though Clinton praised Cornwallis for his performance at Monmouth, he eventually came to blame him for failing to win

3942-421: The way the company collected taxes in its territories, by taxing landowners (known as zamindars ) 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 maximize production. Cornwallis, a landed gentleman himself, especially believed that

4015-772: The work. 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. 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. 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

4088-663: 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.'' In 1786, Cornwallis was made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter . The same year he accepted appointment as Governor-General and commander in chief in India . He had in 1782 been offered

4161-438: The year by participating in the siege of Cassel . In January 1760 Cornwallis became a Member of Parliament , entering the House 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 the House of Lords . He became a protege of the leading Whig magnate, and future Prime Minister, Lord Rockingham . He was one of five peers who voted against

4234-428: Was Archbishop of Canterbury . Frederick's twin brother, Edward , was a military officer, colonial governor, and founder of Halifax, Nova Scotia . His brother William became an Admiral in the Royal Navy . His other brother, James , eventually inherited the earldom from Cornwallis's son, Charles . The family was established at Brome Hall, near Eye , Suffolk , in the 14th century, and its members would represent

4307-470: Was decisively defeated at Cowpens . He then clashed with the rebuilt Continental army under General Nathanael Greene at Guilford Court House in North Carolina, winning a Pyrrhic victory with a bayonet charge against a numerically superior enemy. In the battle, he controversially ordered grape shot to be fired into a mass of combat that resulted in friendly casualties but helped break the American line. Cornwallis then moved his forces to Wilmington on

4380-404: Was a blow to rebel morale. 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. 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. As

4453-456: Was appointed to the rank on September 5, 1777, which he learned of as he was on the road to return to France. Kalb was at Valley Forge for most of the winter between 1777 and 1778, commanding a division of Patterson's and Learned 's Brigades. During this time, he wrote letters of introduction for John Adams to the French court, expressing a poor opinion of French forces: On the whole, I have annoyances to bear, of which you can hardly form

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4526-420: 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. The King of Nepal appealed to Cornwallis in 1792 for military assistance. Cornwallis declined the king's request, sending instead Colonel William Kirkpatrick to mediate the dispute. Kirkpatrick was the first Englishman to see Nepal; by the time he reached Kathmandu in 1793,

4599-423: Was conducted by General William Medows , and it was a limited success. Medows successfully occupied the Coimbatore district , but Tipu counterattacked and was able to reduce the British position to a small number of strongly held outposts. Tipu then invaded the Carnatic , where he attempted unsuccessfully to draw the French into the conflict. Because of Medows' weak campaigning, Cornwallis personally took command of

4672-403: Was disappointed to learn that Horatio Gates had been appointed to command instead of him. Gates led the army to a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780. De Kalb's horse was shot from under him, causing him to tumble to the ground. Before he could get up, he was shot three times and bayonetted repeatedly by British soldiers. His friend and aide, the Chevalier du Buysson,

4745-442: Was expected to recruit more Loyalists, who were believed to be more numerous in the southern colonies. 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 local privateers , and bad weather impeded

4818-503: Was greatly revered by his contemporaries and is still regarded as a hero of the American Revolution. Numerous towns and counties in the U.S. bear his name , including in Alabama , Georgia , Illinois , Indiana , Mississippi , Missouri , New York , Tennessee and Texas . Streets include DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn , New York City , and Merrick, New York , DeKalb Pike ( U.S. Route 202 ) between King of Prussia and Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania , and others. In Brooklyn, New York,

4891-401: Was in that year appointed to be Governor-General and commander-in-chief in India. There he enacted numerous significant reforms within the East 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 the Third Anglo-Mysore War to defeat

4964-530: Was injured by an accidental blow from Shute Barrington , later Bishop of Durham . He obtained his first commission as Ensign in the 1st Foot Guards , on 8 December 1757. He then sought and gained permission to engage in military studies abroad. After travelling on the continent with a Prussian officer, Captain de Roguin, he studied at the military academy of Turin . Upon completion of his studies in Turin in 1758, he travelled to Geneva , where he learned that British troops were to be sent to North America in

5037-466: Was placed in a financially precarious state by his inability to be on active duty. In August 1785 he was sent to Prussia as an ambassador to the court of Frederick the Great to sound out a possible alliance. He attended manoeuvres along with the Duke of York where they encountered his old opponent Lafayette. In October 1785, Cornwallis wrote dismissively of Prussian military manoeuvres while in Hanover, writing that: ''Their manoeuvres were such as

5110-463: Was seriously wounded blocking additional blows with his own body. Upon seeing Kalb, Cornwallis told him, "I am sorry, sir, to see you, not sorry that you are vanquished, but sorry to see you so badly wounded." It is reported that Cornwallis supervised the dressing of Kalb's wounds by his own surgeons in Camden, South Carolina . As he lay dying, Kalb was reported to have said to a British officer, "I thank you sir for your generous sympathy, but I die

5183-565: Was succeeded by Sir John Shore . Upon his return to Britain in 1794, he found it militarily engaged in the French Revolutionary Wars . After he was sent on an ultimately fruitless diplomatic mission to stop the fighting, he was appointed master of the ordnance , a post he held until 1798. 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

5256-576: Was the chief British signatory to the 1802 Treaty of Amiens and was reappointed to India in 1805. He died in India not long after his arrival. Cornwallis was born in Grosvenor Square in London, though his family's estates were in Kent . He was the eldest son of Charles Cornwallis, 5th Baron Cornwallis . His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend , and niece of Sir Robert Walpole . His uncle, Frederick ,

5329-479: 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 of merit-based advancement . Criminal and civil justice systems in the company's territories were a confusing overlay of legal systems, jurisdictions, and methods of administration. Cornwallis had

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