General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

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 C ...

on 31 October 1740, the son of Cornelis Cuyler and Catalyntie Schuyler, she a descendant of the Schuyler family. Among his siblings was prominent American loyalist, Abraham Cornelius Cuyler (1742–1810), who married Jannetje "Janet" Glen, sister of Henry Glen (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 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 agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and ...

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 closin ...

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 Yor ...

in August 1776, Battle of Brandywine in September 1777 and the Battle of Germantown 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 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 Greate ...

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 France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

. He was promoted to full

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

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 14t ...

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