Robert Cornwell

Robert Thompson Cornwell (January 29, 1835 – April 26, 1927) was an American soldier, lawyer, and educator. Serving as a Union Army captain during the American Civil War, he was captured and imprisoned in the notorious Confederate Libby Prison. After the war, he became a prominent citizen of West Chester, Pennsylvania, and a partner in the law firm of William Darlington.

Early life and education Cornwell was born in Orange County, New York, on January 29, 1835, to Daniel and Elizabeth (Thompson) Cornwell. His parents were farmers. Cornwell attended Monticello Academy in Sullivan County, New York, and the University of Northern Pennsylvania in Bethany, Pennsylvania. He taught at both of his alma maters in 1853 and 1854. In April 1855, he moved to Millersville, Pennsylvania, to teach at the Lancaster County Normal School, founded that same year by county superintendent James P. Wickersham. In the fall of 1858, Cornwell and another teacher founded a normal school in Indiana, Pennsylvania, which eventually evolved into Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Military career When the American Civil War erupted in April 1861, Cornwell raised a company of infantry troops in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers. Cornwell soon disbanded the company, as Lincoln's quota for Pennsylvania volunteers had been filled. In August 1862, he raised another company, which joined the 67th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment, attached to the Army of the Potomac. He became captain and commanding officer of Company I. His company guarded infrastructure in Annapolis and Baltimore in 1862 and later deployed to West Virginia.

Personal life and death Cornwell married Lydia Ann Jackson of Chester, Pennsylvania, on May 9, 1859. The couple had five children: Gibbons Gray, Martha Jackson, Mary Elizabeth, Ada Westlake, and William Darlington, who was named in honor of Cornwell's friend and business partner. Gibbons Gray earned a law degree from Yale University, practiced law with his father, and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel during the Spanish–American War.

Cornwell died at his home in West Chester on April 26, 1927, at the age of 92. He was interred at Oaklands Cemetery.