# Cornwallis — The Columbiad character guide

> Cornwallis in The Columbiad by Joel Barlow.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** brave Cornwallis

**First appearance:** 0009-book-vi

## Snapshot

The bold British commander whose southern victories end in the trap at Yorktown, where his surrendered banners and piled muskets close the war's decisive chapter.

## Who they are

Cornwallis drives the poem's late military movement, chasing success through the Carolinas until Greene's attrition and the closing French and American armies pen him against the sea. Barlow calls him brave and lets him yield with reluctant honor, refusing to make the enemy a mere caricature. His surrender at York and Gloucester, with the naval battle of the Degrasse and Graves behind it, becomes the moment the vision's promise of liberty finally takes hold.

## In the story

### [Book VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/book-vii)

Brave Cornwallis perceives his glories gone and his promised empire lost at Yorktown.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/cornwallis
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters