Lord Charles Cornwallis autograph letter signed ("Cornwallis"). Two pages of a bifolium, 7.5" x 9.25", Culford, [England]; October 24, 1783. British Major General Cornwallis writes to an unidentified soldier that he would be please to give him a testimonial for service in the American Revolutionary War. Letter of Cornwallis to an unidentified recipient who served in the British Army in the American Revolutionary War, agreeing to write a testimonial for him and present it to King George III. The letter reads, in full: "Having been for some days on a visit to Lord Townshend, I did not receive your letter ‘till this day. It will give me the greatest pleasure to take every opportunity of doing justice to your character & of bearing testimony to the zeal with which you served at Charlestown [Charleston, South Carolina] in a state of health & under a distress of mind which would well have warranted your quitting the field. It does not however immediately occur to me in what manner my testimonial of your meritorious service can reach His Majesty; I propose being in town at the meeting of Parliament, when I shall be glad to have some conversation with you on the subject; in the mean time I cannot help suspecting that you may have been deceived, and that His Majesty has not received any unfavorable impressions. I beg you will present my best wishes to Lady Sarah & with great regard." Signed, "Cornwallis". Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1738-1805), is best remembered as one of the leading British generals in the American Revolutionary War. In 1781, Cornwallis, threatened by a sizeable Continental force under the command of General Lafayette, retreated through Virginia, first to Richmond and, finally, near the end of July, to Yorktown, which he proceeded to fortify. Lafayette's forces, now numbering 8,000 troops, blocked any possible escape route by land. Cornwallis' army, totaling 7,000, waited in vain for rescue or reinforcements from the British Navy. Instead, a French fleet of twenty-four ships under the Comte de Grasse assumed control of the strategic waters of Chesapeake Bay. Under this naval umbrella, in late August and early September, General George Washington led 7,000 additional Franco-American troops from New York to Virginia in hopes of entrapping Cornwallis on the Yorktown Peninsula. On October 17, a British rescue fleet only two-thirds the size of the French fleet, set out for Virginia - but it was too late. Bombarded by the French fleet and 16,000 allied troops on land, Cornwallis surrendered his entire army on October 17, 1781. This is generally considered the end of the war, as the bulk of British troops surrendered with Cornwallis (although minor skirmishes continued for two more years). Following the defeat and subsequent blow to his reputation, Cornwallis returned to England in 1782. He was later appointed governor-general and commander in chief in India in 1789, where his service did much to restore his reputation, and he was awarded the title of Marquis in 1792. It is accompanied by an engraved vignette portrait of Cornwallis. Condition: Previous near complete separation along horizontal folds since repaired; crosses some text. Minute scattered soiling and foxing. Staple hole at upper left extends to both sheets. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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