Cornwallis in Ireland British General Charles Cornwallis , the 1st Marquess Cornwallis was appointed in June 1798 to serve as both Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Commander - in - Chief of Ireland , the highest civil and military posts in the Kingdom of Ireland . He held these offices until 1801 . Cornwallis had specific instructions and authority to deal with the Irish Rebellion of 1798 , which had broken out in May 1798 . He took steps to ensure that justice was consistently applied to captured rebels , personally reviewing a significant number of court cases . He directed military operations when a French Revolutionary force landed at Killala Bay in August 1798 . In the aftermath of the rebellion , the political climate with regard to Ireland became dominated by the idea that the union of the Irish and British kingdoms ( which were in personal union under the sovereignty of King George III ) was necessary to improve conditions in Ireland . Cornwallis favoured union , but believed that it would also require Catholic emancipation ( the granting of basic civil rights to the predominantly Roman Catholic Irish population ) to create a lasting peace . While Cornwallis was instrumental in achieving the passage of the Act of Union in 1800 by the Irish Parliament , he and Prime Minister William Pitt were unable to convince the king of the merits of Catholic emancipation . This difference of opinion led to the fall of Pitt ' s government . Cornwallis also resigned , and was replaced in May 1801 by the Earl of Hardwicke . Background . Charles Cornwallis , 1st Marquess Cornwallis , was a British general , civil administrator , and diplomat . His early career was primarily military in nature , including a series of well - known campaigns during the War of American Independence from 1776 to 1781 that culminated in his surrender at Yorktown . This was followed in 1786 by a period of service as Commander - in - Chief and Governor - General of India . There he oversaw the consolidation of British power throughout most of southern India , primarily at the expense of the Kingdom of Mysore and its vassals , and introduced administrative reforms that had long - term consequences . In 1794 he returned to England , which was then 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 . The Kingdom of Ireland was at this time in personal union with the Kingdom of Great Britain , and therefore was under the rule of King George III , although it had separate political and administrative institutions . Members of the Parliament of Ireland were only elected by Protestants , as the Roman Catholic property owners had been disenfranchised in 1728 . The majority Catholics had , over the previous century , been progressively stripped of other rights as well . King George was represented in civil affairs by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , who ruled in consultation with a privy council , and in military affairs by a Commander - in - Chief . The demands of the American War of Independence had forced King George to withdraw many troops from Ireland for service in North America . To bolster forces supportive of the king , Protestants raised militia companies called the Irish Volunteers to replace the departing regulars . Protestant leaders in the Irish Parliament , including Henry Flood and Henry Grattan , who had the support of the Volunteers , convinced the British Parliament to pass a series of acts known collectively as the Constitution of 1782 , giving the Irish Parliament significant political independence . Unlike many English , Flood and Grattan were also proponents of Catholic emancipation , and under their leadership the Irish Parliament overturned a number of the restrictions on the rights of Catholics , although they continued to be unable to vote or hold elected offices . When the French Revolution broke out in the early 1790s , Catholics and middle - class Protestants united to form the Society of United Irishmen . They successfully extracted additional rights , although there was some Protestant resistance to the idea of full Catholic suffrage due to their overwhelming numerical majority . The more radical elements favouring Irish independence found a leader in Theobald Wolfe Tone , who went to France for support from the revolutionaries there that led to an aborted attempt to invade Ireland in 1796 . The failed invasion led the government of the Earl of Camden to round up leaders of the United Irishmen and attempt to disarm the Catholic populace . Use of these tactics was made possible in part by the passage of an Insurrection Act , giving the administration broad police powers , and also by the suspension of " habeas corpus " in October 1796 . By mid - May 1798 the Commander - in - Chief , General Gerard Lake had organised British troops and the Irish Volunteers to put down elements of the growing rebellion . These actions , sometimes capricious and brutal , fanned the flames of rebellion . While Lake ' s actions had been effective in Dublin , rebel leaders successfully orchestrated the simultaneous start of widespread hostilities on 23 May . News of the rebellion reached London a few days later , taking the British cabinet by surprise . Lord Camden had assured the Home Secretary , the Duke of Portland , that rebellion was unlikely in a letter written less than two weeks earlier . Camden , predicting a protracted and bloody struggle , sent his family to safety in England , undermining William Pitt ' s confidence in him . Appointment . Lord Camden had suggested Cornwallis for the position of Commander - in - Chief as early as 1797 , since he was unhappy with Lake ' s heavy - handed leadership . Cornwallis refused this initial offer because the position was subservient to that of the Lord Lieutenant , which he felt would diminish its effectiveness . In March 1798 , Camden suggested to Pitt that he be replaced as Lord Lieutenant with Cornwallis , and then in May suggested that Cornwallis be offered both posts , an arrangement similar to the position he held in India . Cornwallis was aware of the discussions around these later proposals , and he agreed to the idea in discussions with Pitt in early June . On 13 June , King George ' s Privy Council approved his appointment to both posts . On 21 June , Cornwallis arrived in Dublin to take command . While these discussions went on , General Lake directed the response to the rebellion . On the day Cornwallis landed , the back of the rebellion was broken with a British victory over a large rebel force at Vinegar Hill . Rebellion . Irish remnants . As the British military and loyal militia mopped up the remnants of the rebellion in Wexford and other counties , the atrocities and sectarian violence left a mark on Cornwallis . He wrote that " the life of a Lord Lieutenant of Ireland comes up to my idea of a perfect misery ; but if I can achieve the great object of consolidating the British Empire , I shall be sufficiently repaid . " In early July he issued a proclamation offering amnesty to rebels who laid down their arms and took an oath to the crown , and he cracked down on the sometimes arbitrary courts martial held in the field by requiring the review of all sentences in Dublin . However , not all of Ireland received this treatment : areas that were still " disturbed " were exempted from the requirement , Lord Castlereagh , Cornwallis ' Chief Secretary , reported that " numbers were tried and executed " without the lord lieutenant ' s review . One principal stronghold of the rebels was the Wicklow Mountains , through which the army began construction of a road facilitate its operations . The Wicklow Military Road survives today as the R115 road in Wexford and Dublin . Cornwallis also negotiated with the parliament the passage of a bill offering amnesty to most of the rebels . This idea was vigorously opposed both in the Protestant - controlled Irish Parliament and in London . By the time the bill passed and received the royal signature in October , it contained numerous exceptions , meaning that anyone with a role of significance in the rebellion was likely not eligible . The bill was also enacted too late to be of significant benefit anyway . He offered financial compensation for losses incurred by loyalists , the terms of which were significantly abused , as claims were often made well in excess of actual losses . This policy of lenience was furthermore disliked by politically influential Protestants , which complicated some of Cornwallis ' s later activities . To finish putting down the rebellion and create a semblance of peace , Cornwallis needed more troops . Pitt had promised him 5 , 000 regulars and militia prior to his appointment . While regular troops were among the first to arrive , Ireland became a virtual garrison by September as militia companies flooded in . On 27 June , the Irish Parliament passed a bill Cornwallis introduced to regulate the use of English militia companies . The rebel ringleaders were subjected to courts martial dominated by Protestants , something Cornwallis disliked but put up with . A few of the rebel leaders were tried for treason in July , and sentenced by Cornwallis to hang . This prompted a large number of prisoners , who had not yet been tried , to petition Cornwallis for banishment in exchange for their co - operation . Cornwallis agreed in principle , to stem the flow of blood that was still ongoing in the countryside , and out of concern that the rebellion might be renewed if French assistance arrived . The banishments in many cases were not carried out until 1799 . In spite of some opposition , Cornwallis ultimately succeeded in having more than 400 rebels banished , primarily to Scotland . According to Lord Castlereagh , Cornwallis ' Chief Secretary , Cornwallis personally reviewed 400 court cases , sentencing 131 to death . French invasion . French support for Irish independence waned after the death of Lazare Hoche , one of its main proponents , and the driving force behind the 1796 invasion attempt . Napoleon considered an invasion of Great Britain in late 1797 and early 1798 , but dropped the idea in February 1798 after seeing the poor condition of the navy . Napoleon instead chose to begin an expedition to Malta and Egypt in May , shortly before the Irish rebellion erupted . However , Wolfe Tone and other Irish dissidents in France managed to extract some assistance from the French Directory . Cornwallis did not directly involve himself in military matters until the unexpected arrival on 22 August of French troops at Killala Bay in County Mayo , an area that had not seen much rebellious activity . A fleet of three ships had sailed from Rochefort in early August , carrying General Jean Humbert and over 1 , 000 French troops , pursuant to a plan that also included 3 , 000 troops to sail from Brest . When they landed , Humbert relatively quickly raised several hundred poorly disciplined recruits to join him , and began moving south . News of Humbert ' s landing reached Dublin two days later . Cornwallis , fearing their presence would encourage renewed uprisings , stepped in to direct military matters . He despatched General Lake to oversee the defences at Castlebar , where Humbert appeared to be heading , with orders to avoid a confrontation until he had sufficient strength . On the morning of 27 August , Lake ' s force was routed in the " races of Castlebar " . Most of the fleeing defenders ended up at Tuam , some from Castlebar , where Cornwallis went the next day with reinforcements . To bolster the forces , he reduced the garrisons at Dublin and Wexford significantly . Despite building a sizeable force ( estimated at about 10 , 000 ) , Cornwallis was concerned about the quality of these forces , which included sizeable militia and yeomanry whose reliability in combat was uncertain . He also had to deal with their behaviour : actions of plunder and violence against locals in the early stages of the campaign prompted him to issue orders threatening immediate execution for soldiers caught stealing , and called on officers " to assist him in stopping the licentious behavior of the troops " . General Humbert , who knew he would be significantly outmanned until the arrival of the Brest fleet unless he could reignite the rebellion and raise more men , then led Cornwallis and Lake on a chase . Seeking to gain support in Ulster , Humbert rapidly moved north . Cornwallis detached Lake to follow Humbert , while he monitored Humbert ' s movements and kept positions between Humbert and Dublin . Humbert failed to gain significant local support , and was eventually trapped between the two forces at Ballinamuck . After a brief battle there on 8 September , Humbert surrendered . The fleet from Brest , carrying Wolfe Tone among others , sailed late , and attempted to escape British naval ships in an attempt to return to France ; most of the fleet was captured , and Wolfe Tone was brought to Dublin in chains . According to one account , Cornwallis ordered a number of Humbert ' s Irish supporters to be killed by lottery . Pieces of paper , some marked " death " , were placed in a hat . Prisoners then drew from the hat , and were immediately led to the gallows if they drew one of the marked papers . Cornwallis was criticised for the slow pace with which he went after Humbert , and the large number of troops used to capture the relatively modest French army . However , supporters pointed out that all of the French force was captured , and there was no subsequent uprising . General John Moore countered some of the criticisms , noting that Cornwallis " always suspected the Shannon and Dublin to be the objects [ of Humbert ' s movements ] , and by guarding against them in time he prevented much mischief . He showed much prudence and judgment in the service . " Aftermath . In the aftermath of the rebellion , Cornwallis came to believe that British policy toward Ireland was flawed , and that it was his job as Lord Lieutenant to promote measures that would benefit the " entire " population . This view brought him into conflict with both the Protestant elites in the Irish parliament , and the political establishment in London , even though he was in agreement with the latter that Ireland should be united with Great Britain . In 1799 and 1800 , Ireland was suffering from food shortages that were exacerbated by crop failures in 1799 and a shortage of milling capacity . When Cornwallis offered a bounty to food importers , Portland , the Home Secretary , objected . Cornwallis did take other steps , including the banning of distillation of spirits ; he even considered arranging for imports of grain from America . Attempting to act on a bequest by the recently deceased Bishop of Armagh for the establishment of a " university of Dissenters " there , Cornwallis proposed the establishment of a university for Presbyterians modelled on Trinity College , Dublin . Portland opposed the move , arguing in a manner the Wickwires describe as specious that the dissenters did not require a university , and that Ireland only needed the one university it already had . Union . The Protestant elites in Ireland had previously petitioned for union with Great Britain early in the 18th century , principally to overcome London ' s essentially colonial treatment of the country , which included trade restrictions detrimental to Irish merchants and businessmen . The subject arose several times in Irish and British political circles , and William Pitt had decided that it was time to give the matter serious consideration by the time Cornwallis went to Dublin . British politicians saw the immediate aftermath of the rebellion as a particularly opportune moment to press the matter . King George wrote that his officials should use " the present moment of terror " to convince Irish political interests previously opposed to support the idea . The Protestant Ascendancy stood to lose a great deal in union , as seats in parliament , a significant source of power to a relatively small number of families , would necessarily be reduced as a consequence . To counter this assault on their power base , Cornwallis sought to use his power as lord lieutenant to grant government jobs ( patronage ) and peerages to essentially buy off enough votes in the Irish parliament so that it would vote itself out of existence . This task , which the Wickwires describe as " a program of wholesale bribery " , was one that Cornwallis found extremely unpleasant . Early setback . Cornwallis believed that the terms of union should include Catholic emancipation . While some rights had been restored in the early 1790s , Catholics were still denied elective offices and other rights . Almost everyone in the establishments of Dublin and London , including the king and much of Pitt ' s cabinet , opposed this , leading Cornwallis to write that " some mode must be adopted to soften the hatred of the Catholics to our government " . In a letter to the Home Secretary he wrote , " I trust that your grace and His Majesty ' s other ministers will on no account consent to the insertion of any clause which shall unalterably bind the United Parliament to persevere in the exclusion of Catholics . " Protestants , including the Lord Chancellor , Lord Clare , who favoured union , opposed Catholic emancipation . " I trust , and I hope I am not deceived , that they are fairly inclined to give them up , and to bring [ union ] forward unencumbered with the doctrine of emancipation . " King George , after Cornwallis ' appointment , wrote to Pitt that " Cornwallis must clearly understand that no indulgence can be granted to the Catholics farther than has been " . Cornwallis ' efforts to include support for emancipation clearly had negative repercussions . One Protestant wrote , " his silly conduct , his total incapacity , and self conceit and mulishness have alone lost the question [ of union ] " , while another wrote to Castlereagh that Cornwallis had been rendered " not only an object of disgust , but of abhorrence . " None of this prevented Cornwallis , with the assistance of Castlereagh , from forging ahead with the raising of support for union in November 1798 , after the rebellion had died down . Their politicking included firing government officials opposed to union and giving the jobs to supporters , and the offering of a small number of peerages . However , they could not overcome the rumours generated by early drafts of the details of union that appeared to conspire against the Protestant interests . In December 1798 , trade groups representing lawyers , merchants , and bankers all came out against the idea . The principal objection was that there would be fewer seats available for Irish representation in the united parliament , resulting in a loss of power for those whose seats would not be retained . Cornwallis saw the trouble ahead , warning Portland that it was unlikely to pass . On 22 January 1799 , both the Irish and British parliaments met , and each heard a substantially similar address in favour of union delivered in London by the king , and in Dublin by the Lord Lieutenant . The Irish House of Commons , in a clear signal , agreed with the sentiments of the speech by only two votes . Castlereagh , who had been optimistic about the prospects of passage , informed Portland , " I should despair of the success of the measure at any future period , so weighty is the opposition . . . , were I not convinced that their repugnance turns more upon points of personal interest , than a fixed aversion to the principle of union . " Building support . In the aftermath of the speech ' s poor reception , Pitt effectively promised Cornwallis " carte blanche " to build support for union . Portland wrote to Cornwallis , " I hope it is unnecessary to assure your excellency that whatever your decisions may be you may depend upon their receiving the unreserved sanction and support of His Majesty ' s servants . " On the basis of these assurances , Cornwallis and Castlereagh developed a plan to coopt or convince enough of the propertied interests that controlled the parliament to support the union . Cornwallis found this task , which occupied much of the next year , to be extremely distasteful : " 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 an Union the British Empire must be dissolved . " The task was made somewhat more pleasant by the arrival of his son for a short visit in July 1799 . Some of Cornwallis ' opponents were particularly difficult to deal with . The Marquess of Downshire , who controlled eight seats in the Irish parliament , managed to convince his militia regiment to sign a petition in February 1800 opposing union ; Cornwallis used his military authority to suspend Downshire from his command . When the news reached London , Downshire was stripped of further privileges by King George , and formally stripped of his colonel ' s commission . Others were more easily bought off with further promises of patronage and peerages . Cornwallis also worked to get support from Catholics , but was only able to make the vaguest promises concerning their rights due to the high - level resistance to the idea . Debate for union began in the Irish parliament on 15 January 1800 . Peers in the upper house , concerned that Irish peerages would be debased by the union , at first resisted ; Cornwallis promised them that the king would phase out Irish peerages , issuing more British peerages instead . On 28 March the parliament passed resolutions indicating support for union , so Castlereagh formally introduced the Act of Union on 21 May . The bill was passed in June , and Cornwallis gave it the royal assent in 1 August , with the union to take effect on 1 January 1801 . It included no provisions for Catholic rights . Clare , the Lord Chancellor , wrote , " I am now quite satisfied that [ Cornwallis ] has on the whole been the man of all others best selected for the crisis . " Some political opponents declared that the union had been accomplished by corrupt on the part of government officials . Jonah Barrington alleged that Castlereagh corruptly spent £1 . 5 million of treasury funds to achieve union , and Henry Grattan ' s son wrote that " the union . . . was an act of power and corruption . " This accusation was picked up by 19th - century historians , and persisted into 20th century historiography . Historian Patrick Geoghegan observes that the methods the government employed were not unusual for the time , and Donal McCartney observes " it would be old - fashioned , too nationalist , and much too simplistic to hold that the act of union was carried mainly because of the corrupt methods employed by the government . " Delivering on promises . After dissolving the Irish parliament , Cornwallis embarked on a goodwill tour of the island , and was generally well - received wherever he went ; " not an unpleasant circumstance to a man who has governed a country above two years by martial law . " Anticipating little trouble delivering on the many promises he had made , Cornwallis had forwarded to London a list of sixteen names to be granted peerages . The Home Secretary hedged , delayed , and refused many of them ; Cornwallis threatened to resign , since he had staked his reputation on the matter . Castlereagh supported Cornwallis in his quest , and the pressure on the London cabinet succeeded . Portland informed Cornwallis that the cabinet would respond favourably , and it did . In the following months , many new peerages were issued , over and above those that Cornwallis requested . Cabinet and royal support did not extend to Cornwallis ' s persistent requests for Catholic rights ; he gave signs that he would eventually resign if action was not taken . Neither he nor Pitt , who had come to support him , was able to sway the king , who gave an anti - Catholic speech in January 1801 . In response to this , Pitt requested the king ' s permission to resign . At an impasse over the issue , King George accepted Pitt ' s resignation on 5 February ; Cornwallis also resigned , agreeing to remain in office until a successor arrived to replace him . On 25 May 1801 , his successor , the Earl of Hardwicke , arrived in Dublin . Three days later , Cornwallis , delayed by bad weather , arrived at Holyhead , and returned to London . Legacy . Cornwallis ' work on union and his position on Catholic emancipation , while unsuccessful at the time , were politically influential . Although he was unable to move the king on the issue of emancipation , his views may have played a role in the change of position on the issue by Lord Clare and Edward Cooke , another early critic of emancipation , and rendered its passage , according to one commentator , " only a question of time " . Political movements toward emancipation continued , first under Henry Grattan , and then later under Daniel O ' Connell , whose campaigns for Catholic rights in the 1820s led to the 1829 Catholic Relief Act . Cornwallis next was engaged by the king in diplomatic efforts in Europe . He led the British diplomatic team whose negotiations with Napoleon resulted in the 1802 Treaty of Amiens . He was then offered a second tour of duty in India . After a difficult sea voyage , he died in India not long after arriving there in 1805 . He is buried in Ghazipur , India .