Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Fiennes Cornwallis, born Fiennes Wykeham-Martin (1 November 1831 – 24 April 1867), 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 and related to the Cornwallis family.

Early life

Born 1 November 1831 at

Leeds Castle Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds. A castle has existed on the site since 857. In the 13th century, it came into the ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he was the son of

Charles Wykeham Martin Charles Wykeham-Martin DL (11 September 1801 – 30 October 1870) was an English Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons in three periods between 1841 and 1870. Martin was born Charles Wykeham the son of Fiennes Wykeham of ...

M.P. and Lady Jemima Isabella (née Mann) and was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

Family life

Major Cornwallis, married Harriet Elizabeth (née Mott), daughter of John Thomas Mott on 29 July 1863 and had 4 children. The eldest became 1st Baron Cornwallis. Cornwallis was the grandson of

James Mann, 5th Earl Cornwallis James Mann, 5th Earl Cornwallis (20 September 1778 – 21 May 1852), known as James Cornwallis until 1814 and as James Mann between 1814 and 1823 and styled Viscount Brome between 1823 and 1824, was a British peer and Tory politician. Background ...

; the great-grandson of

James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis James Cornwallis, 4th Earl Cornwallis (25 February 1743 – 20 January 1824) was a British clergyman, and peer. Life He was the third son of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the 2nd Viscount Townshen ...

; the 2nd great-grandson of

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis (29 March 170023 June 1762), styled The Honourable Charles Cornwallis until 1722 and known as The Lord Cornwallis between 1722 and 1753, was a British peer. Background Cornwallis was the son of Charles C ...

; the 3rd great-grandson of

Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis (167520 January 1721/22) was a British politician. Background He was the son of Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis (c. 1655 – 1693) and Elizabeth Fox (c. 1654 – 1680/81). On 29 April ...

; the 4th great-grandson of

Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis PC (28 December 1655 – 29 April 1698) was a British politician who served as First Lord of the Admiralty. He succeeded his father Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis as Baron Cornwallis in 1673 ...

; the 5th great-grandson of

Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis of Eye (1632 – 13 April 1673) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1662 when he inherited the peerage as Baron Cornwallis. Early years Cornwallis w ...

; the 6th great-grandson of

Frederick Cornwallis, 1st Baron Cornwallis Frederick Cornwallis, 1st Baron Cornwallis (14 March 1610/1 – January 1662) was an English peer, MP and Privy Counsellor. He was Treasurer of the Household 1660–1662. He was the eldest surviving son of Sir William Cornwallis of Brome, Su ...

; and the 7th great-grandson of

Jane Cornwallis Jane, Lady Cornwallis, later Lady Bacon ( Meautys; 1581–1659), was an English courtier and letter writer, whose correspondence was published (in 1842 in London, 8vo, and in 2003). Jane Meautys was the daughter of Hercules Meautys of West Ham ...

, and

Elizabeth Richardson, 1st Lady Cramond Elizabeth Richardson, 1st Lady Cramond (1576/77 – 1651) was an English writer and peeress.George Cokayne, The Complete Peerage, 1887–98 She is remembered for her collections of prayers. Biography Born Elizabeth Beaumont, she was the ...

. His other ancestors include

Edward Cornwallis Edward Cornwallis ( – 14 January 1776) was a British career military officer and was a member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacobi ...

Frederick Cornwallis Frederick Cornwallis (5 March 1713 – 19 March 1783) served as Archbishop of Canterbury, after an illustrious career in the Anglican Church. He was born the seventh son of an aristocratic family. His twin brother Edward Cornwallis had a milit ...

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

William Cornwallis Admiral of the Red Sir William Cornwallis, (10 February 17445 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a n ...

, and

Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis (19 October 1774 – 9 August 1823), styled Viscount Brome until 1805, was a British Tory politician. He served as Master of the Buckhounds between 1807 and 1823. Background Cornwallis was the only s ...

Military career

Cornwallis served in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

with the

4th Light Dragoons Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

and took part in the

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to se ...

, becoming aide-de-camp to

Lord George Paget General Lord George Augustus Frederick Paget (16 March 1818 – 30 June 1880), was a British soldier during the Crimean War who took part in the famous Charge of the Light Brigade. He later became a Whig politician. Early life Lord George Au ...

in the Crimea. Letters Written from The Crimea to Several Members of his Family. CORNWALLIS, (Major Fiennes).
Collected and Edited by Mrs. Wykeham Martin, of

Later life

Cornwallis retired from the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

on 5 May 1863 with the rank of Major and died few years later on 24 April 1867 in a

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

accident.

Bibliography

*Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition).
New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.

Notes

References

*
The Descendants of William the Conqueror
Page 104

The Conwallis Family
Bulletins and Other State Intelligence 1855
Google Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornwallis, Fiennes 1831 births 1867 deaths People from Leeds, Kent People educated at Eton College 4th Queen's Own Hussars officers British Army personnel of the Crimean War Deaths by horse-riding accident in England Hunting accident deaths