To begin, Charles Cornwallis was by …show more content…
However, in many cases he did many actions that can be described as reckless, a big gamble, wild, and stupid. It is said that people who did take real risks, like Cornwallis, suffered total defeat . For example, in January of 1777, the general went after General Washington to avenge his defeat at Trenton. Little did Cornwallis know that Washington snuck from behind with his 5200 men into Princeton. Thus, Washington caused 400 British casualties and only suffered 40 deaths for the Americans . This shows that one should always watch their back and look in every direction. Although Cornwallis triumphed in the battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781, he caused many deaths in his army which lead his defeat in the end of the war. He encountered General Nathaniel Greene who was very clever. Cornwallis won at the expense of 30% of his army, whereas the intelligent Greene only lost a few . Cornwallis was not thinking straight in this battle and only had his eye on the goal, not on his men. Furthermore, this is also shown on the 7th of April, 1781; where he finally counts his men, only to discover that half of his troops were missing! He did not care for his troops well, which adversely effected his ability to become a great General. On September 30, 1781 in Yorktown, Cornwallis gave up his outer lines, which meant that the American and French allies could overtake his inner defence. The Americans and