William Cornwallis

Admiral Sir William Cornwallis, GCB (10 February 1744 – 5 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a number of decisive battles including the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758 and the Battle of the Saintes but is best known as a friend of Lord Nelson and as the commander-in-chief of the Channel Fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. He is depicted in the Horatio Hornblower novel, Hornblower and the Hotspur.

Early life

William Cornwallis was born 10 February 1744. His father was Charles the fifth baron and first earl Cornwallis and his mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Viscount Charles Townshend. William was the younger brother of General Charles Cornwallis.

Seven Years' War

The young William entered the navy in 1755 aboard the 80-gun HMS Newark bound for North America in the fleet of Admiral Edward Boscawen. Cornwallis was shortly after exchanged into HMS Kingston and was present in her at the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758. The siege itself was one of the pivotal battles of the war. Louisbourg, was the only deep water harbour that the French controlled in North America and with its capture it enabled the British to launch an attack on Quebec City. General James Wolfe's attack on Quebec City at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham saw the beginning of the end of French colonisation in North America.

William Cornwallis (died 1614)

Sir William Cornwallis (c. 1579 – 1 July 1614) was an early English essayist and served as a courtier and member of Parliament. His essays, influenced by the style of Montaigne, rather than that of Francis Bacon, became a model for later English essayists. He has sometimes been confused with his uncle of the same name.

Life

Cornwallis was baptised in Fincham, Norfolk, the eldest child of the diplomat Sir Charles Cornwallis by his first wife Ann (c. 1550–1584, the widow of Richard Nicoll), the daughter of Thomas Fincham, whose family resided in Fincham for 500 years. Cornwallis was the member of Parliament for Orford in 1604 and 1614. He was knighted in 1599 after serving in the Earl of Essex's Irish campaign.

Cornwallis is often confused with his uncle of the same name (c. 1551–1611), who was the father of Anne Cornwallis, Countess of Argyll, second wife of Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll. His uncle (rather than he) was a friend of Ben Jonson. This William Cornwallis is sometimes described as "the younger" to differentiate him from his uncle, who is often described as "the elder".