General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir Cornelius Cuyler, 1st Baronet (31 October 1740 – 8 March 1819) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who became Lieutenant-Governor of Portsmouth.

Early life

Cuyler was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

on 31 October 1740, the son of Cornelis Cuyler and Catalyntie Schuyler, she a descendant of the

Schuyler family The Schuyler family ( /ˈskaɪlər/; Dutch pronunciation: xœylər was a prominent Dutch family in New York and New Jersey in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose descendants played a critical role in the formation of the United States (especiall ...

. Among his siblings was prominent American loyalist, Abraham Cornelius Cuyler (1742–1810), who married Jannetje "Janet" Glen, sister of

Henry Glen Henry Glen (July 13, 1739 – January 6, 1814) was a merchant, military officer and politician who served as a Federalist Party, Federalist in the United States House of Representatives during the years immediately following the adoption of the ...

(1739–1814). His father was the oldest surviving son of twelve children born to his grandfather, Albany Mayor Johannes Cuyler (1661–1740), and grandmother, Elsje (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Ten Broeck) Cuyler (d. 1752). His grandfather was an admitted freeman of New York City and served for 22 years as a

Commissioner of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal government of the United States, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

Military career

Cuyler was commissioned as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

into the 55th Regiment of Foot in May 1759 during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. He took part in the Battle of Ticonderoga in July 1759 and the

Battle of the Thousand Islands The Battle of the Thousand Islands was an engagement fought on 16–24 August 1760, in the upper St. Lawrence River, among the Thousand Islands, along the present day Canada–United States border, by British and French forces during the closing ...

in August 1760. He became aide-de-camp to General

Sir William Howe William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three bro ...

in July 1775 and fought at the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yo ...

in August 1776,

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...

in September 1777 and the

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Con ...

in October 1777 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

before commanding his regiment at the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, co ...

in June 1778. He became Quartermaster-General in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

in November 1782, Commander-in-chief in the West Indies in November 1792 and then Lieutenant-Governor of Portsmouth and General Officer Commanding South-West District in January 1796. He became Commander-in-Chief in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in January 1799 during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

. He was promoted to full

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in September 1803 and created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 29 October 1814.

Personal life

In 1763, Cuyler was married to Anne Wendell. After his death, he was succeeded in his baronetcy by his son, Charles Cuyler (1794–1862). Cuyler died on 8 March 1819.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuyler, Cornelius 1740 births 1819 deaths 55th Regiment of Foot officers British Army generals Cuyler family Schuyler family Military personnel from Albany, New York Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Army personnel of the French and Indian War British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War