THE SURRENDER OF LORD CORNWALLIS

The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull, painted bet. 1786-1787. Lord Cornwallis (1738-1805), also known as the Earl Cornwallis from 1762 to 1792. He was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who was born into an aristocratic family as Charles Cornwallis. He commanded troops which defeated the American army at the Battle of Camden in 1780, but in 1781, he was forced to surrender to the American and French forces during the Siege of Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781.