Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Day 151, June 26

General Charles Cornwallis was blamed by the British for losing the Revolutionary War.  Cornwallis was the commanding general of the British Army in America who handed over his sword in surrender to General George Washington in Yorktown in 1781.

I had always thought of Cornwallis as the ultimate villain, the man who stood between the Colonies and freedom.  In fact, he was on the side of the colonists.

A member of English nobility, Cornwallis took his seat in Parliament at the age of 22.  Two years later, he was elevated to the House of Lords in upon his father's death.

While serving in Parliament, he upheld the American cause and opposed the increased taxation which brought on the revolution.  He made many stirring speeches in Parliament extolling the rights of the American colonists.

No comments:

Post a Comment