Cornwallis in North America Charles , Earl Cornwallis ( 1738 – 1805 ) was a military officer who served in the British Army during the American War of Independence . He is best known for surrendering his army after the 1781 Siege of Yorktown , an act that ended major hostilities in North America and led directly to peace negotiations and the eventual end of the war . Born into an aristocratic family with a history of public service , Cornwallis was politically opposed to the war , but agreed to serve when it became clear that Britain would require a significant military presence in the Thirteen Colonies . First arriving in May 1776 , he participated in the Battle of Sullivan ' s Island , before joining the main army under General William Howe . He played a notable role in the partially successful New York and New Jersey campaign when George Washington successfully eluded him after the Battle of the Assunpink Creek and inflicted a decisive defeat on troops left at his rear in the Battle of Princeton . Cornwallis was also involved in the Philadelphia campaign ( 1777 – 1778 ) , leading a wing of Howe ' s army , before he became one of the leading figures of the British " southern strategy " to gain control of the southern colonies . In that role he successfully led troops that gained a measure of control and influence in South Carolina before heading into North Carolina . There , despite successes like his victory at the Battle of Camden , which burnished his reputation , wings of his army were decisively defeated at Kings Mountain and Cowpens . After a Pyrrhic victory at Greensboro , North Carolina , Cornwallis moved his battered army to Wilmington to rest and resupply . From Wilmington , Cornwallis , in a move that became a subject of contemporary and historical debate , led his army into Virginia , where he joined with other British troops that had been raiding economic and military targets in that colony . Ineffectually opposed by a smaller Continental Army under the Marquis de Lafayette , he was eventually ordered to establish a well - defended port by General Henry Clinton . Poor communications in the British establishment and French naval superiority over the Chesapeake Bay caused him to become entrapped at Yorktown without the possibility of reinforcement ; he surrendered after three weeks of siege , on October 17 , 1781 . He was released on parole , and returned to England in December of that year . He and General Clinton engaged in a highly public exchange after the 1781 campaign in which each sought to deflect blame for its failure . Background . Charles , Earl Cornwallis was a military officer born into an aristocratic family . His family had a distinguished record of public and military service , and Cornwallis was no exception . Eager for action , he served with the British Army in Europe during the Seven Years ' War , rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel . During those years he also served first in the House of Commons of Great Britain , and then , upon his accession to the title of Earl of Cornwallis in 1762 , in the House of Lords . He was politically aligned with the Whig s , and was sympathetic to the complaints of the British colonists in North America , voting against the 1765 Stamp Act . When it was repealed the following year , he was one of a few voters against the Declaratory Act , in which Parliament continued to claim authority over the colonies . Also in 1766 , he was given the colonelcy of the 33rd Regiment of Foot . In the following years he continued to argue politically in support of the colonists even as tensions rose between them and the Parliament . When the North ministry rose to power in 1770 , Cornwallis adopted a less active voice in politics , and avoided seeking political appointments . In 1768 he married Jemima Tullekin Jones , the daughter of a regimental colonel . They had two children , a boy and a girl , before Jemima died in 1779 , and were by all accounts a happy , devoted couple . American War of Independence . After the opening skirmishes of the war took place near Boston , Cornwallis put his politics aside and sought active service . Despite of his opposition to the king ' s colonial policy , Cornwallis had retained King George III ' s favour , and was rapidly promoted . On September 29 , 1775 he was promoted to major general . In November he offered to serve in North America on a proposed expedition to the southern colonies , even though the number of officers that were senior to him in rank meant he was unlikely to get an independent command . This generosity was appreciated by the king and by Lord George Germain , the secretary of state for the colonies . On January 1 , 1776 he was given the rank of lieutenant general in North America . His orders from Lord Germain were to accompany a convoy of troops from Cork , Ireland to North America , where he was to join at Cape Fear , North Carolina with General Henry Clinton , who was bringing troops from Boston for operations in the southern colonies . Clinton arrived at Cape Fear well before the earl , since logistics delayed the convoy ' s departure , and then bad weather slowed its progress across the Atlantic . Cornwallis expected to have good relations with Clinton ; a mutual friend , William Phillips , reported Cornwallis to be " very happy to think he shall serve under an old friend and a man he has so good an opinion of . " These forces then shifted south and participated in the first Siege of Charleston in June 1776 . Cornwallis was landed with Clinton ' s troops on Long Island , where they were unable to cross the deep channel separating the island from Sullivan ' s Island , where the principal colonial defenses were located . The colonists brought artillery up to oppose any attempted crossing , and the landing was a failure , as was the naval cannonade of Fort Sullivan . New York campaign . After the failure in South Carolina , Clinton and Cornwallis transported their troops north to serve under William Howe in the campaign for New York City . In the Battle of Long Island , Cornwallis led the reserve division that took part in the successful flanking of the American position on Gowanus Heights . Cornwallis ' s role in the following weeks was minor ; his command was not directly involved in the battles that drove George Washington across the Hudson River and into New Jersey . At the fall of Fort Washington , Cornwallis ' s troops sealed one of the last escape routes . General Howe then gave Cornwallis his first chance at an independent command , assigning him to capture Fort Lee , across the river from Fort Washington . The Americans occupying that fortification were led by Nathanael Greene , who would later face Cornwallis in the south , and only barely made their escape . Cornwallis ' s prizes in the bloodless seizure of the fort included tents , guns , and other military supplies . Washington ended up withdrawing all the way across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania , with Cornwallis in pursuit until his force reached New Brunswick , New Jersey . His troops were exhausted from the chase , and his orders from Howe were to go no further . Cornwallis , who was criticized for disobeying or disregarding Clinton ' s orders in later campaigns , observed that he would have disobeyed Howe ' s orders if he believed further pursuit would have gained material advantage for the British . Howe joined him on December 6 , and led the pursuit to the Delaware with Cornwallis in the van . In his orders of December 14 , Howe recognized the successful close of the campaign " much to the honor of his lordship and the officers and soldiers under his command . " Trenton and Princeton . After the New York City campaign and the subsequent occupation of New Jersey by the British army , Cornwallis applied for leave to return home . He was preparing to sail from New York when orders arrived cancelling his leave . Washington ' s successful surprise attack on Trenton on the morning of December 26 demanded a response , and Howe ordered Cornwallis back to New Jersey to deal with Washington . Cornwallis rode into New Jersey on New Year ' s Day 1777 and gathered together the scattered British and German garrisons at Princeton , where an army of 8 , 000 came together . Leaving 3 , 000 men in posts at Princeton and Maidenhead , Cornwallis advanced with the remaining 5 , 000 down the main road to Trenton early on January 2 , where Washington had established a strong position on the south side of the Assunpink Creek . He rejected advice from the Hessian Colonel Carl von Donop , who proposed a two - column approach that would turn Washington ' s right flank . After a running series of skirmishes designed to delay the British march , Cornwallis finally reached Trenton and came upon Washington ' s position around sunset . In the battle that followed , Cornwallis ' s forces made three attempts to either cross bridges or ford the creek ; all were successfully repulsed . Rather than attempt a nighttime assault across unknown terrain against Washington ' s position , Cornwallis ordered his troops to camp , noting that he could " bag the fox " in the morning . During the night , however , Washington ' s forces slipped around his , and successfully attacked the British outpost at Princeton . Although the Continental Army ' s disengagement was due in large part to Washington ' s use of deception , including the maintenance of blazing campfires and the presence of a small detachment of troops to keep up camp sounds throughout the night , Cornwallis also neglected to send out sufficient patrols to monitor Washington ' s activities . When the disappearance of Washington ' s army was discovered in the morning , Cornwallis immediately gave chase , but his troops only began to arrive two hours after the Princeton troops surrendered . Washington , his forces tired out after the night march and battle , moved north toward Morristown , while Cornwallis returned to New Brunswick , where the large base had been left garrisoned by a single regiment , and included the British warchest . Cornwallis remained in New Jersey through the winter , where an ongoing series of skirmishes kept the German and British forces under his command constantly on edge . Persistent attacks on Cornwallis ' s own regiment , the 33rd , prompted him to plan a significant retaliatory attack . In early spring 1777 , Cornwallis surprised Benjamin Lincoln ' s garrison at Bound Brook on April 13 , very nearly capturing Lincoln . In June , General Howe ordered a movement in force into New Jersey apparently in an attempt to draw Washington into battle from a strong position in the Watchung Mountains . This move failed , although Cornwallis very nearly cut off a portion of Washington ' s army in the June 26 Battle of Short Hills . These engagements had no long - term impact , and Howe withdrew is forces onto naval transports for an expedition to capture Philadelphia . Philadelphia campaign . General Howe hoped that capturing Philadelphia , the rebel capital , would end the war at a stroke . Cornwallis was given command of the army ' s light infantry in the campaign , which got underway when the army disembarked at Head of Elk ( now Elkton , Maryland ) on 25 August 1777 . Advance units of Cornwallis ' s division were involved in the Battle of Cooch ' s Bridge on 3 September , as the army began its march northward . At the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September , Howe and Cornwallis led the flanking movement that ultimately forced the Americans from their position . Cornwallis also played an important role in the Battle of Germantown on 4 October , bringing up reinforcements late in the battle . When Howe sought to gain control over the Delaware River approaches to Philadelphia , Cornwallis was sent into New Jersey in November to secure Fort Mercer after a failed Hessian assault . The Americans abandoned the fort as his column approached . General Howe then sent Cornwallis to probe Washington ' s position at White Marsh in December ; these movements resulted in a series of inconclusive skirmishes . When the army entered winter quarters in Philadelphia , Cornwallis took his long - delayed leave , sailing for England on 13 December . In addition to spending several months with his devoted wife , he informed the government of affairs in the colonies and visited the families of his colleagues . He sailed from England on 21 April 1778 , and arrived in Philadelphia in early June , after a crossing that was much more pleasant than his first in 1776 . During Cornwallis ' s absence , control of the British forces had passed to Henry Clinton on the resignation of General Howe ; as a consequence , Cornwallis was now second in command in North America . After the surrender of John Burgoyne ' s army at Saratoga and the entry of France into the war , the British decided to withdraw from Philadelphia to concentrate defenses in New York against the French threat . Cornwallis commanded the rearguard during the overland march from Philadelphia 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 American advance . However , when he then led elite units against an entrenched Continental Army position , it refused to budge , and Cornwallis was forced to withdraw with heavy casualties . Even though Clinton commended Cornwallis for his performance at Monmouth , he eventually came to blame the earl for failing to win the day . After returning to New York , Cornwallis applied to Clinton for leave to return to England , where his wife was ill . Clinton , believing Cornwallis was well positioned to influence the political leadership to gain additional troops for the war effort , granted the leave , and Cornwallis returned to England in December 1778 . Although he spent some time pleading Clinton ' s case , his wife ' s illness distracted him . Finding her in " a very weak state indeed " , he stayed with her until she died on February 14 , 1779 . Cornwallis was devastated by the loss , reporting that her death had " effectually destroyed all my hopes of happiness in this world . " He eventually decided to return to service in April 1779 ; in a letter to Clinton he offered to serve either in the southern colonies or the West Indies . South Carolina . Cornwallis returned to America in July 1779 , where he was to play a central role as the lead commander of the British " Southern strategy " . At the end of 1779 , 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 . Cornwallis and Clinton at first worked closely together during the siege , but their relationship deteriorated . Cracks had formed between the two as early as October 1776 , when Cornwallis reported to General Howe critical comments that Clinton made about Howe ' s conduct at White Plains . Clinton also seemed to believe that one reason for Cornwallis ' s trips to England was to scheme for an independent command . Cornwallis as second in command held a dormant commission and would replace Clinton as commander in chief . He was aware that Clinton wanted to resign , but he did not want to be saddled with a difficult command situation should that occur . Cornwallis consequently avoided advising Clinton as much as possible , in order to avoid responsibility for poor outcomes . The deterioration in their relationship set the stage for some of their communication difficulties that resulted in Cornwallis ' s eventual surrender at Yorktown . In late April , Clinton detached a force under Cornwallis to ensure that the enemy ' s communications and supplies were interrupted around the city . Because of this , Cornwallis missed most of the siege bombardment and the surrender in May ; forces directed by Cornwallis and led by Banastre Tarleton completed the encirclement of Charleston , skirmishing with the Americans at Monck ' s Corner and Lenud ' s Ferry . After the American surrender Clinton ordered Cornwallis to secure South Carolina ' s interior , while Clinton organized control of Charleston . Not long after Tarleton defeated Abraham Buford ' s Virginia regiments at Waxhaw , Clinton returned to New York , leaving Cornwallis in command in the south . 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 the Chesapeake as soon as we are relieve from our apprehension of a superior fleet and the season will admit . . . " However , 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 was expected to recruit more Loyalists , who were believed to be more numerous in the southern colonies . After the fall of Charleston , Cornwallis set about establishing a British presence throughout South Carolina . Although he successfully established outposts , 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 , and supply ships were frequent targets of local privateers . The weather that summer was rainy , turning the red clay roads of the area into impassable mires . 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 the indifferent abuses of British and Loyalist forces . The latter took the form of militia companies that harassed Loyalists , small British units , and supply and communication lines . In early August , Cornwallis was alerted by Lord Rawdon , the commander of the British garrison at Camden that a new southern Continental Army , this time under the command of Horatio Gates , was approaching from the north . Cornwallis moved forces to Camden from Charleston , and on August 16 inflicted an embarrassing defeat on Gates at the Battle of Camden . The relatively untried Continentals in Gates ' army were routed , and suffered heavy casualties . This served to keep South Carolina clear of Continental forces , and 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 . North Carolina . Cornwallis , buoyed by the victory at Camden , then prepared to advance north into North Carolina while militia activity , led by Thomas Sumter and Francis Marion , continued to harass the troops he left in South Carolina . He detached Patrick Ferguson , his inspector of militia , to raise a company of militia in the hills of North and South Carolina and cover his left flank . Ferguson was zealous in execution of this assignment , raising nearly 1 , 100 men . However , he angered many colonists by issuing threats to " lay their country waste with fire and sword " if they continued their opposition , and a Patriot militia arose to oppose him . While Ferguson recruited , Cornwallis moved his army to Charlotte , North Carolina , skirmishing with Patriot forces left there to harass his advance . Ferguson ' s Loyalists and the Patriot militia , led by a coalition of commanders , clashed at Kings Mountain in early October , two weeks after Cornwallis arrived in Charlotte . The battle was a disaster : Ferguson was killed , and nearly his entire force was killed or captured . Kings Mountain was only about from Charlotte , within Cornwallis ' s range to assist . The defeat , combined with other failures to raise Loyalist militia and ongoing Patriot activity in South Carolina , prompted Cornwallis to retreat to Winnsboro , South Carolina , where he set up a winter camp . Attempts to capture either Marion or Sumter were repeatedly frustrated . To reinforce his army , he ordered Major General Alexander Leslie , stationed at Portsmouth , Virginia , to abandon that outpost and join him in South Carolina . The British camp at Winnsboro was not particularly comfortable , and the men were often sick , living in crude accommodations not unlike those that Washington ' s men had erected at Valley Forge in 1777 . The army suffered from a general lack of supplies , but wagons and horses were in particularly short supply , and the earl discovered that his quartermasters were profiteering on the provisioning of those items . The methods by which horses were acquired also served to alienate their Loyalist friends , since the quartermasters were sometimes indiscriminate , seizing horses from Patriots and Loyalists alike . His supply lines were also continually harassed , particularly by Francis Marion . In November he ordered Tarleton out to capture Marion ; the two commanders successfully maneuvered themselves out of entrapments laid by the other . Tarleton eventually returned to Cornwallis , reporting that Marion ' s force had been broken up ; several days later , Marion resumed his guerrilla war . The arrival in North Carolina of a new Continental Army under Major General Nathanael Greene in December meant that the army would need to begin campaigning again . Although General Clinton had dispatched Brigadier General Benedict Arnold to Virginia to threaten Greene ' s supply lines , Cornwallis needed to deal with the wily general . Greene had detached Brigadier General Daniel Morgan with a light infantry corps to cause trouble in the highlands of South Carolina . Cornwallis sent Tarleton with a sizable force to chase down Morgan . In a tactically brilliant battle at Hannah ' s Cowpens on January 17 , 1781 , Morgan decisively defeated Tarleton , capturing most of his force . News of the battle so upset the earl that he was reported to snap a sword . He wrote that " [ T ] he late affair has almost broke my heart " , and vowed to recover the prisoners Morgan had taken . Immediately giving chase , he was unable to gain on Morgan , who , although burdened with prisoners , was not burdened by a large baggage train . Cornwallis , in a move calculated to force his army to be able to move faster , ordered most of his baggage train destroyed on January 24 . Starting with the personal effects of himself and his officers , he ordered the burning of everything except a minimal set of supplies . Cornwallis ' s second in command , Charles O ' Hara , commented that the move " must ever do the greatest honor to Lord Cornwallis ' military reputation " . This move inaugurated what has been called " race to the Dan " . The Dan River separated Greene ' s army from his supply bases in Virginia , and Cornwallis wanted to catch Morgan before he and Greene could join forces , or before Greene could reach Virginia . In a rapid series of marches under extremely difficult conditions that tired out both armies , Greene and Morgan reunited their forces , and Greene made it across the flood - swollen Dan on February 13 . Cornwallis decided to halt the pursuit , having effectively driven the Continentals from North Carolina , and returned to Hillsboro , where he again attempted to raise Loyalist militia . After resting his troops , General Greene recrossed the Dan and returned to North Carolina . He and Cornwallis then engaged in a military dance of sorts , where Cornwallis tried to bring Greene to battle , while Greene , awaiting the arrival of more troops , sought to avoid it . Cornwallis ' s force was also constantly suffering food shortages , and the earl ensured that officers and soldiers shared equally in the suffering . Cornwallis was unable to intercept the arriving reinforcements , and learned that Greene had taken up a position at Guilford Courthouse on March 14 , apparently ready to do battle . In the ensuing battle the next day , Cornwallis was victorious , but at significant cost . Greene ' s army had numbered over 4 , 000 men , while Cornwallis ' s was only about 2 , 000 . The British successfully pushed the Americans back , but Cornwallis was several times in personal danger , and he was forced to commit his reserves early in the battle . With a furious melee going on before him and the outcome of the battle appearing to hang in the balance , Cornwallis made a controversial decision . He ordered his artillery to load with grape shot and fire into the melee , which included men from the elite Brigade of Guards . General O ' Hara protested the move , but Cornwallis said " This is a necessary evil which we must endure , to arrest the impending destruction . " A final charge then broke the Americans , who disengaged , leaving their artillery on the field . Although Cornwallis had won the battle , he had lost a quarter of his army , and the survivors were exhausted . Cornwallis , his forces reduced by the seemingly endless campaign , then moved to Wilmington on the coast to resupply . Greene , whose army was still intact after the loss at Guilford Courthouse , crossed into South Carolina , where over the course of several months regained control over most of the state . Cornwallis received dispatches in Wilmington informing him that another British army under Generals Phillips and Arnold had been sent to Virginia . He finally came to the conclusion that , in spite of orders that limited him to the Carolinas , he would best serve the British cause by going to Virginia to join his army with that of Phillips and Arnold . Writing after the campaign , he explained that he did not feel he could effectively support Lord Rawdon , who he had left in command in South Carolina , and that he would be unable to gain control of North Carolina until Virginia had been pacified . Since he had not received instructions from Clinton in some time , he wrote the general a letter specifically requesting direction : " I am very anxious to receive your Excellency ' s commands , being as yet totally in the dark as to the intended operations of the summer . I cannot help expressing my wishes that the Chesapeak may become the seat of war [ . . . ] North Carolina [ . . . ] is the most difficult of provinces to attack . " He also wrote to Lord Germain arguing the case for operations in Virginia . Virginia campaign . Cornwallis marched from Wilmington on April 25 , sending orders to Phillips to meet him at Petersburg , Virginia . On his arrival at Petersburg on May 20 , he learned that Phillips , an old friend of his , had died a week earlier of a fever . With his arrival and that of fresh troops from New York , the army that came under his command numbered about 7 , 200 . It was opposed by a Continental Army contingent currently at Richmond under the command of the Marquis de Lafayette . Lafayette ' s force numbered 3 , 000 , of which about two thirds were militia . He was also expecting to be reinforced soon by additional Continental Army troops from Pennsylvania led by Brigadier General Anthony Wayne . Chasing Lafayette . Cornwallis , in the absence of instructions from Clinton , sought to execute the orders Clinton had given Phillips . These were to establish a naval station and to engage in raids against economic and military targets , and did not include any organized scheme of offense . Sending General Arnold , who complained of gout , back to New York , he set out in pursuit of the marquis on May 27 . He also sent a letter to Clinton , outlining his preference for Yorktown over Portsmouth as the site of a naval station . Lafayette , aware that he was not strong enough to oppose Cornwallis , fell back rapidly toward his supply base at Fredericksburg . When Cornwallis reached Hanover Court House he stopped the chase , and instead detached Tarleton and John Graves Simcoe on two separate raiding expeditions . Tarleton he sent to raid Charlotteville , where the Virginia legislature was meeting , while he sent Simcoe to Point of Fork , where Baron von Steuben had a supply depot . Both expeditions were qualified successes ; Tarleton very nearly captured Virginia governor Thomas Jefferson at his home of Monticello , while Simcoe managed to destroy a significant cache of supplies despite being outnumbered by von Steuben ' s force . While these raids went on , Lafayette and Wayne joined forces , and Lafayette was further reinforced by the arrival of about 600 experienced militia a few days later . Cornwallis began to slowly move east toward Williamsburg , practically ignoring Lafayette . He periodically detached Simcoe or Tarleton on foraging and raiding expeditions as he went , and his main army reached Williamsburg on June 25 . Lafayette , buoyed by his reinforcements , followed the earl , and began sending out detachments of his own light troops to bring at least part of the British army to battle . Learning that Simcoe was foraging behind the main army , Lafayette sent out 600 men to track him down before he could rejoin Cornwallis . These two forces clashed on June 26 not far from Williamsburg , and Cornwallis escorted out reinforcements to cover Simcoe ' s retreat . Confusing orders . At Williamsburg , Cornwallis received several letters from Clinton . Clinton was upset that Cornwallis had moved into Virginia , and ordered him to establish a suitable fortified point . He also ordered him to return any troops he could spare to New York . ( This request , written in mid - June , reflected concern over the movements of the French army from Newport , Rhode Island to White Plains , New York , and intelligence that General Washington was considering an attack on New York City . ) Cornwallis reconnoitered Yorktown , and found it to be inadequate . He informed Clinton that he would move to Portsmouth , embark troops there for Clinton ' s use , and assess whether Portsmouth was a more suitable location for a naval station . Cornwallis accordingly began moving his army toward Portsmouth . This necessitated crossing the wide James River at Jamestown , a move the earl realized would give Lafayette an opportunity to attack . He decided to lay a trap for the marquis , who had come to the same conclusion when he noticed Cornwallis heading for the ferry . Lafayette ' s advance force , led by General Wayne , walked into the trap , and only just escaped it , suffering 150 casualties . On July 8 Cornwallis received orders from Clinton directing the troops he was planning to embark for a potential operation against Philadelphia . Upon his arrival at Suffolk he received further dispatches from Clinton , including some that predated others he had already received . Cornwallis decided to proceed with the embarkation of troops for Philadelphia . By July 20 , some of these troops had boarded their transports when fresh orders arrived countermanding those for the Philadelphia expedition . He was now ordered to , if possible , recall any embarked troops , and instead do nothing beyond establishing a fortified naval station . He was " at full liberty to detain all the Troops now in Chesapeak " for the purpose . Cornwallis , after analyzing Portsmouth and several other options , chose Yorktown and Gloucester Point ( across the York River from Yorktown ) as the best of the choices for the station . On August 2 , he disembarked his army at Yorktown , and began fortifying the area . Trapped . While Cornwallis fortified , forces from the West Indies and the allied camp outside New York were preparing to converge on his position . With the arrival of the French fleet under the Comte de Grasse at the end of August , and the arrival General Washington ' s combined French - American army by late September , Cornwallis was trapped . After the Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves was defeated by the French at the 5 September Battle of the Chesapeake , and the French siege train arrived from Newport , his position became untenable . On September 6 , General Clinton wrote a letter to Cornwallis , telling him to expect reinforcements . Received by Cornwallis on September 14 , this letter may have been instrumental in the decision by Cornwallis to remain at Yorktown and not try to fight his way out , despite the urging of Banastre Tarleton to break out against the comparatively weak Lafayette . The British military leadership in New York held a council on September 17 in which they agreed that Cornwallis could not be reinforced until they had regained control of the Chesapeake . Historian Richard Ketchum describes the decision of the council as leaving Cornwallis " dangling in the wind . " One day earlier , Cornwallis wrote a desperate plea for help : " I am of the opinion that you can do me no effectual service but by coming directly to this place . " Before dispatching the letter on the 17th , Cornwallis added , " If you cannot relieve me very soon , you must prepare to hear the worst " . The siege formally got underway on September 28 . Despite a late attempt by Cornwallis to escape via Gloucester Point , the siege lines closed in on his positions and the allied cannons wrought havoc in the British camps , and on October 17 he opened negotiations to surrender . On that very day , the British fleet again sailed from New York , carrying 6 , 000 troops . Still outnumbered by the French fleet , they eventually turned back . A French naval officer , noting the British fleet ' s departure on October 29 , wrote , " They were too late . The fowl had been eaten . " Apparently not wanting to face Washington , Cornwallis claimed to be ill on October 19 , the day of the surrender , and sent Brigadier General O ' Hara in his place to formally surrender his sword . Washington had his second - in - command , Benjamin Lincoln , accept Cornwallis ' s sword . Aftermath . Cornwallis returned to Britain with General Arnold , and they were cheered when they landed in England on January 21 , 1782 . In 1782 Henry Laurens , a representative to the Continental Congress , was released from the Tower of London in exchange for a promise to effect the release of Cornwallis from his parole . Laurens was unsuccessful in this , and Cornwallis was not formally freed until a preliminary peace was agreed in 1783 . His tactics in America , especially during the southern campaign , were a frequent subject of criticism by his political enemies in London , especially General Clinton , who sought to blame Cornwallis for the failures . His dispute with Clinton was particularly public ; both men published works critical of the other , and much of their correspondence in 1781 was made public as a result . However Cornwallis retained the confidence of King George III and the British government . Later career . In August 1785 Cornwallis attended manoeuvres in Prussia along with the Duke of York where they encountered Frederick the Great and Cornwallis ' s Virginia opponent , the marquis de Lafayette . In 1786 he was appointed to be Commander - in - Chief of British India and Governor of the Presidency of Fort William , also known as the Bengal Presidency . He served in these posts with distinction , enacting administrative reforms in the British East India Company , and made changes to judicial , civil , and revenue administration in the company ' s territories that had significant long - term consequences . He returned to England in 1794 , worn out from the difficult military campaigns of the Third Anglo - Mysore War , in which he led the first major British defeat of Tipu Sultan . After holding administrative posts in London , he was despatched to the Kingdom of Ireland in June 1798 after the Irish Rebellion broke out . In addition to mopping up most of the remnants of the rebellion , Cornwallis was instrumental in convincing the Irish Parliament to pass the Act of Union ( 1800 ) . This was a critical step in uniting the British and Irish crowns , creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Cornwallis resigned his posts in Ireland in 1801 after King George refused to support Catholic emancipation . The king then sent Cornwallis to finalize a peace agreement with Napoleon , and signed the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802 on behalf of the United Kingdom . In 1805 Cornwallis was again appointed to India . He died not long after his arrival , in October 1805 . He is buried in Ghazipur , the place where he died .