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Cornwallis and the War of Independence

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Description:As the British commander whom General Washington defeated at Yorktown, Charles, second Earl Cornwallis, lives in the minds of many Americans as a figure of infamy, the instrument of King George's wish to suppress the Americans' will to freedom. This book, which follows the Earl's career through Yorktown, shows that Cornwallis was a man of courage and honor, a soldier and officer true to his calling, and a servant of the noblest traditions of the British aristocracy.Cornwallis was born in 1738, and even as a boy shows his propensity for the military. He was, his father said, "a very military young man." Accordingly, after his schooling at Eton, he was commissioned in the Grenadier Guards, and went to the military academy at Turin, thus gaining a formal training in military sciences that was almost unheard of in the British army of the day. He saw service in Germany, but upon his father's death in 1762 he returned home to take his seat in the House of Lords. In the next few years he supported the cause of the American colonists by siding with the Rockingham whigs against the repressive policies pursued by the King's ministers.The Earl's pro-American sentiments did not prevent him from doing his duty to King and country, and in 1775 he volunteered for service in America. Sailing to America early in 1776, he spent the next four years serving under two inept commanders—first the unimaginative Howe, and then the vacillating Clinton. Only in 1780, when left in Charleston to be commander of the army in the South, was Cornwallis given anything like a free hand. Almost at once he won an impressive victory at Camden. He hoped thereby to regain South Carolina for the Crown, but the odds against him were enormous: a huge territory, meager supplies, a neutral or hostile populace, timid loyalists, an ineffectual militia, an indifferent superior (not sitting out the war in New York), and rash subordinates like Major Ferguson, whose foolhardiness brought a tragic defeat at King's Mountain.In 1781 Cornwallis hoped that a campaign into North Carolina would win the South, but the costly defeat of Tarleton at Cowpens, and Cornwallis' own equally costly victory at Guilford Courthouse dashed these hopes. Now, acting without express orders, seeking one last means of victory, Cornwallis marched to Virginia. The winning of this province, he reasoned, would win the South. But Clinton ruined his plans by forbidding an offensive campaign and by ordering him instead to fortify a naval station. Cornwallis chose Yorktown, and the outcome of the American and French siege upon this post is well known.As a military leader, Cornwallis did not have the overt flair of a Ferguson, a Harry lee, or a Wayne. Rather, he had quieter, more important qualities, always rare, always easy to praise but difficult to celebrate: steadfastness, balance of mind, constant concern for the welfare of his men, and above all, unswerving loyalty to the cause which he had made his own. He is one of the greatest defeated generals to appear in American history.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Cornwallis and the War of Independence. To get started finding Cornwallis and the War of Independence, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
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Pages: 486

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: Faber and Faber Ltd.

Release: 1971

ISBN: 0571096778

Description: As the British commander whom General Washington defeated at Yorktown, Charles, second Earl Cornwallis, lives in the minds of many Americans as a figure of infamy, the instrument of King George's wish to suppress the Americans' will to freedom. This book, which follows the Earl's career through Yorktown, shows that Cornwallis was a man of courage and honor, a soldier and officer true to his calling, and a servant of the noblest traditions of the British aristocracy.Cornwallis was born in 1738, and even as a boy shows his propensity for the military. He was, his father said, "a very military young man." Accordingly, after his schooling at Eton, he was commissioned in the Grenadier Guards, and went to the military academy at Turin, thus gaining a formal training in military sciences that was almost unheard of in the British army of the day. He saw service in Germany, but upon his father's death in 1762 he returned home to take his seat in the House of Lords. In the next few years he supported the cause of the American colonists by siding with the Rockingham whigs against the repressive policies pursued by the King's ministers.The Earl's pro-American sentiments did not prevent him from doing his duty to King and country, and in 1775 he volunteered for service in America. Sailing to America early in 1776, he spent the next four years serving under two inept commanders—first the unimaginative Howe, and then the vacillating Clinton. Only in 1780, when left in Charleston to be commander of the army in the South, was Cornwallis given anything like a free hand. Almost at once he won an impressive victory at Camden. He hoped thereby to regain South Carolina for the Crown, but the odds against him were enormous: a huge territory, meager supplies, a neutral or hostile populace, timid loyalists, an ineffectual militia, an indifferent superior (not sitting out the war in New York), and rash subordinates like Major Ferguson, whose foolhardiness brought a tragic defeat at King's Mountain.In 1781 Cornwallis hoped that a campaign into North Carolina would win the South, but the costly defeat of Tarleton at Cowpens, and Cornwallis' own equally costly victory at Guilford Courthouse dashed these hopes. Now, acting without express orders, seeking one last means of victory, Cornwallis marched to Virginia. The winning of this province, he reasoned, would win the South. But Clinton ruined his plans by forbidding an offensive campaign and by ordering him instead to fortify a naval station. Cornwallis chose Yorktown, and the outcome of the American and French siege upon this post is well known.As a military leader, Cornwallis did not have the overt flair of a Ferguson, a Harry lee, or a Wayne. Rather, he had quieter, more important qualities, always rare, always easy to praise but difficult to celebrate: steadfastness, balance of mind, constant concern for the welfare of his men, and above all, unswerving loyalty to the cause which he had made his own. He is one of the greatest defeated generals to appear in American history.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Cornwallis and the War of Independence. To get started finding Cornwallis and the War of Independence, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

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Cornwallis and the War of Independence

Cornwallis and the War of Independence

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