Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Fiennes Cornwallis, born Fiennes Wykeham-Martin (1 November 1831 – 24 April 1867), was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 and is a historic Grade I listed estate. A castle has existed on the site s ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, he was the son of Charles Wykeham Martin M.P. and Lady Jemima Isabella (née Mann) and was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

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 Peerage, peer. Life He was the third son of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the Charles Townsh ...

; 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 ...

; the 3rd great-grandson of Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis; the 4th great-grandson of Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis; the 5th great-grandson of Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis; the 6th great-grandson of Frederick Cornwallis, 1st Baron Cornwallis; 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 member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacobite r ...

Frederick Cornwallis Frederick Cornwallis (5 March 1713 – 19 March 1783) was a British clergy member who served as Archbishop of Canterbury after a career in the Church of England. He was born the seventh son of an aristocratic family. Early life and education C ...

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading Britis ...

William Cornwallis Admiral Sir William Cornwallis, (20 February 17445 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a number of decisive ...

, 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 ...

Military career

Cornwallis served in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

with the 4th Light Dragoons and took part in the

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a military action undertaken by British light cavalry against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, resulting in many casualties to the cavalry. On 25 October 1854, the Light Br ...

, becoming aide-de-camp to Lord George Paget 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, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

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, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

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