General Charles Cornwaliis

"A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the value of life."
           - Charles Cornwallis

Charles Cornwallis was a wise man who lead British to many victories. He was the commander of the British Army in the American Revolutionary War. Cornwallis was a man who wanted numerous victores for his hountry and for himself. In addition, after the Revolutionary war, he became in the governor-general of India. He was the leader of many battles that Britain fought with America. As always, he brought success and failure. In the Seven Year War, he was known for helping prevent the French invasion of Honover. The Seven Year War brought him a long and successful military career. Charles Cornwallis was an efficient commander and a commander hard to defeat. he always thought in adavnce of every battle to have victories. Although he did not won many battles, he learned from his mistakes and never gave up.

The amazing Charles Conwallis was born at Grosvenor Square, London on December 31, 1738. His parents were: Charles Earl Cornwallis and Elizabeth Townshend. At the beginning, hismlife was all about education because he studied at Eton and later on he went to Clare College at Cambridge. His family was very wealthy, but he was unusual in a certain aspect of his life. First of all, he decided to start a military career, which at the time was very unlikely for a wealthy man. Charles wanted passionately a military life because he bagan studying about it for a long time just to pursue his dreams. Also, Cornwallis was a member of the House of Lords; where he voted against the Stamp Acts and the Intolerable Acts. He was promoted major general by King George III in 1775 because it was the beginning of the intensive war with America. He fought in many battles against America, and most of them were win by the British because of him.

After a very long time in America fighting against the United States, Cornwallis lost the American Revolutionary War. Unfortunately, Charles had big desires of winning one of the most important battles of life, but he did not win because he land into a Patriots Trap. The defeat occured in Yorktown, where Cornwallis was leading his troops. Sudenly, he was trap by the Patriots, so he was force to surrender his army. Once he surrender, it was the end of the war. Eventhough his country was defeated, Cornwallis moved on by returning to London and focused on other aspects of his personal and military life. The defeat did not broke his spirit or reputation because he became governor of Ireland and India, where he made some helpful reforms. He was made First Marquess Cornwallis. Cornwallis put down an Irish rebellion, he passd the Act of Union which united the English and Iirsh Parliaments. Sadly, Charles Cornwallis died October 5, 1805. He is a great example for everyone who has dreams and want to have perseverance in his life.

The Revolutionary War Impacts Society

Who would've thought that the shots fired at Lexington and Concord would change not only America but the whole world? Nobody could have predicted the huge and amazing impact that this war had in all of the persons in the world. This event marked a precedent for other revolutions to come and it inspired people from all around the world to fight for their rights. Eventhough the Americans had an amazing success, the British were not so lucky to accomplish victory or even honor. They abandoned their Native allies in 1783 and the Treaty of Paris ignored them completely. This left them extremely vulnerable and they had to give up massive tracts of land that belonged to them at the beginning. On the other hand, the British tried to help the Loyalist allies but the state laws and mob violence prevented them from returning home. This may seem bad at first but on the long run, this was beneficial since it spawned the future Canada. This just shows that the war was a necessary change in the spirits of the Americans that eventually grew on to inspire each and everyone of us.
  
The majority of American womens do or made a small contributions to the Revolutionary War effort. Some even participated in the military side of the war. Women had the position to defend their families and homes from British and Native Americans attacks. For African American women in the Revolutionary War made little impacts in their lives. However the women's role became valued for the aid of the revolution and to became the mothers of the nation. Although they suffer many problems as by giving them more puiblic role in society. Also they suffer by not having legal rights, but for us this womens at that time help, because they participated in boycotting British goods, producing goods for soldiers and also spying the British army.

The Revolutionary War also impacted on the African Americans. African Americans still continued to be slaves. This inspired African Americans to demand for their freedom. Some slaves demanded for emancipation. They would go into courts to sue their owners. African Americans just wanted freedom, that is why they joined the Patriots militia for a promise of liberty. In the other hand, the southern slaves escaped and joined the British. Eventually, laws banned slavery in the North. that is why people on the North would sell the slaves to the South before they become free. Emancipation was successful in the North, but not in the South. In Virginia and Maryland, some farmers freed their slaves. this is called manumission. Twenty thousand slaves were freed in 1810, two thousand were freed by George Washington. This is how the Revolutionary War impacted the society.

The Treaty of Paris

The Treaty of Paris took place in the Revolutionary War between the British and the Americans. It recognized the American Independence and it also established new borders for the nation. This Treaty of Paris was made when the British were defeated in Yorktown, in 1782. The two people who decided to represent their country in the Treaty of Paris were: Richard Oswald, representing the British and Benjamin Franklin, representing the Americans. However, when the Treaty of Paris was sign the British, they decided to remove all of it's troops from the new nation. In the other hand, the Americans agreed to pay all existing debts to the British and also they agreed to NOT persecute the Loyalists that were still in America. Finally, you will see how the British lost the Revolutionary war and how the Americans were victoriuos in this major triumph.

It all started in 1781, when the Americans had their glorious victory at Yorktown between the British. The British negotiators were considering the American Independence as a possibility. Although, the British were thinking on to fighting again, but it would be that will result very expensive because they had to faced a formidable alliance and British greater enemies. That enemies are the combined forces of France and Spain. Therefore, the British plan another efficient strategy, which was to refuse to recognize the American Independence as part of the peace settlement. In July of 1782, Lord Shelburne gave an important issue for Independence, he hoped that a generous peace settlement with the United States should bring peace with France and Spain.

At the end, everything was prepare for the treaty that set boundries between Britain and the Unites States of America, the Treaty of Paris. The Teaty of Paris consisted of ten articles. The geat Treaty of Paris declare a very important intention that was that Americans and British forget all their past problems and misunderstandings. This treaty had many problems when it was on the process of creation because they had two long months of difficult decisions. The ten articles of the treaty consists with a great advantage for the United States. It consists that the United States will be free, independent, and sovereign states. Other thing that was claim in the Treaty of PariS was that the United States boundaries were very generous because they extend the Mississipi River. Finally, the article three that gave America guarantee acces to the Newfoundland fisheries. The final article indicate tHe ratification of the Treaty that had to occur witihin six months of signing. This was the story of the creation and some benefits of the Treaty of Paris.

The Battle of Yorktown

Sept. 28, 1781
On this day General George Washington was commanding a force of 17,000 Continental and French troops. On this day the most important battle of the Revolutionary War took place: The Battle of Yorktown. The enemy was the British General Charles Cornwallis with an army of 9,000 troops. This important battle took place in Yorktown, Virginia and the whole war lasted less than a month. In the spring of 1781, Washington traveled to Rhode Island where he met with Comte de Rochambeau in order to discuss and plan an attack on General Clinton. Clinton was the commander of British forces in America since Lord William Howe had resigned from his position. General Clinton was in New York City after failing to control the northern and middle colonies.

In New York, a French Fleet was expected to arrive later that summer and Washington wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and coordinate the attack with the fleet's arrival. However, Washington changed his plans and he decided to fool Clinton by making him believe he was going to attack him, while he secretly sneaked away to the south to trap Cornwallis. Washington made his men build big army camps and brick ovens to give the appearance of a long stay. He also prepared false documents under his signature discussing plans to attack Clinton and let the papers fall into British hands. Washington and Rochambeau set out for Yorktown in the middle of August. Cornwallis was in Yorktown because he had been ordered by General Clinton to provide a harbor for the British fleet in the lower Chesapeake Bay. He and his army chose Yorktown due to its deep-water harbor.


The French fleet that was commanded by Count de Grasse left Saint Domingue (nowadays Haiti) and headed for the Chesapeake Bay. The Patriots were filled with good luck because at the same time, Cornwallis chose Yorktown as his base and it is located at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Washington ordered Marquis de Lafayette and an American army of 5,000 troops to prevent Cornwallis from escaping by land while the French fleet covered the sea. Washington and his troops had surrounded Cornwallis completely by September 28, 1781. After three weeks of battle Cornwallis surrendered to Washington on Oct. 17, 1781, ending the American Revolutionary War. General Charles O'Hara was Cornwallis's second in command and he had to attend the surrender ceremony because Cornwallis said he was sick. After 8 years of war, finally the United States was a free and independent nation.