These documents consist chiefly of the official papers of the first Marquis Cornwallis, and relate principally to the American War, 1780 to 1782, and to Indian civil and military administration, 1786 to 1797. There are also papers concerning other offices held by Cornwallis: on a Mission to Flanders in 1794; as Master General of Ordnance, 1795 to 1798; as Plenipotentiary to the Congress of Amiens, 1801 to 1802; and miscellaneous semi-official and private papers of the Cornwallis family, 1612 to 1854.