Biography

Lord Charles Cornwallis, son of the English Baron of Eye, attended the famous Eton preparatory school and then a military academy in Italy. King Charles V bought his commission as an officer—that’s how it was done in those days, though not usually paid for by the king! He fought in Germany during the Seven Years’ War, known here as the French & Indian War. After his father died, Charles replaced him in the House of Lords. Cornwallis voted against the laws that angered the colonists. Nonetheless, when war broke out, he took command of a British army here. He led victories in various battles in the north, though defeated by George Washington after the famous