Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon (28 November 1661 – 31 March 1723), styled Viscount Cornbury between 1674 and 1709, was an English Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. He was propelled into the forefront of English politics when he and part of his army defected from the Catholic King James II to support the newly arrived Protestant contender, William III of Orange. These actions were part of the beginning of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Cornbury's choice to support his cousin Anne instead of William after the rebellion cost him his military commission. However, Cornbury's support of King William's reign eventually earned him the governorship of the provinces of New York and New Jersey; he served between 1701 and 1708.
As a High Tory governor, his primary mission was to protect the colonies during the War of the Spanish Succession (known in the Americas as Queen Anne's War, or the 2nd French and Indian War; 1701–1714). His administration successfully prevented French incursions into the middle colonies. However, he became mired in the region's many factional conflicts and accrued powerful political enemies such as Lewis Morris, who would go on to become Governor of New Jersey in 1738.
By 1708, war-weariness led to a shift in the political tide in Great Britain. Governor Cornbury was recalled from the colonies but was soon after installed as a member of Queen Anne's privy council. Lord Cornbury's fortunes changed again when George I was crowned King of Great Britain on 1 August 1714. Out of favour, Lord Cornbury died in Chelsea, London on 31 March 1723. Lord Cornbury's conduct as governor has been generally remembered as scandalous. He was accused by his political enemies of being a cross-dresser, a moral profligate, and wildly corrupt. Few contemporary accounts exist of his conduct. Modern writers disagree whether Cornbury was a cross-dresser or the reports were an invention of his enemies.
The Honourable Edward Hyde, was born the only child of Henry, Viscount Cornbury & 2nd Earl of Clarendon (1638–1709) and Theodosia Capell (1640–1662), daughter of Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham, and sister of Arthur Capell. Henry and Theodosia gave birth to Edward eleven months into their marriage. Only three months after Edward's birth, in March 1662, his mother Theodosia died of smallpox.
The Hyde family had close ties to the monarchy: Edward's grandfather, also named Edward, was the 1st Earl of Clarendon (1609–1674). He was born a commoner but became an important advisor to King Charles I (after 1641) and to Charles II (after 1651). He was best known for negotiating the Restoration of the English Monarchy in 1660 through a series of provisions known as the Clarendon Code. The same year Charles II regained the throne, Clarendon's daughter, Anne Hyde (1637–1671), married the new king's younger brother & heir, James, Duke of York. Meanwhile, Clarendon's eldest son, Henry, married into the Capells of Hadham, one of the richest families in England. Edward's aunt Anne, Duchess of York was the mother of two English Queens, Mary II and Anne.
At age 13, Edward matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford on 23 January 1675. Only a year earlier he had inherited the title Viscount Cornbury when his father succeeded as 2nd Earl of Clarendon. Oxford was followed by three years at l'Academie de Calvin in Geneva.
After graduation, Lord Cornbury joined the elite Royal Regiment of Dragoons under the command of John Churchill, the future Duke of Marlborough. He became lieutenant colonel in 1683. He was stationed in Vienna by the beginning of 1685, protecting the city from the Ottoman Empire. Cornbury first rose to prominence later that year, due to a struggle for the throne set in motion by King Charles II's death on 6 February 1685. James II was the legitimate heir, but he was a staunch Catholic. His nephew, James Fitzroy, the Duke of Monmouth, was illegitimate but a Protestant. On 11 June 1685, Monmouth landed in England hoping to gather popular support for his claim to the throne, triggering the Monmouth Rebellion.
In response, King James II appointed John Churchill as second in command of the Royalist armies, while Lord Cornbury was promoted to command the Royal Dragoons. The rebellion was quickly crushed, with the Royal Dragoons playing a prominent role. As a reward for his service, Cornbury was given a seat in the Loyal Parliament of 1685.He continued to distinguish himself, and was a member of parliament for Wiltshire until 1695, and for Christchurch from 1695 until 1701. He earnt the role of Master of the Horse to the King of Denmark in 1685.
Cornbury played a crucial role in the Glorious Rebellion, becoming the first English officer to defect to the invading William III of Orange. The rebellion originated on 18 June 1688, when prominent English nobles (the "Immortal Seven") sent a letter to William III of Orange requesting his intervention in English politics on the Protestant side. In response, William arrived in Brixham, in southwest England on 5 November with over 450 ships, 15,000–18,000 men, and 3,660 cavalry.
Cornbury's Dragoons was the first royalist unit to make contact with the invasion force – without engaging. A small skirmish was fought at Sherborne on 20 November, but shortly thereafter Lord Cornbury defected to William's side, bringing many of his dragoons with him. Four days later on 24 November Cornbury's mentor, Lord Churchill, also switched sides. Though a relatively small number of Cornbury's men defected with him, accounts range from a low of 27 to a high of 100, the effect of Cornbury and Churchill's actions were devastating to Loyalist morale, and rumours spread that the entirety of their regiments had defected with them. His father despaired at hearing his son was a rebel, but would eventually help negotiate between James and William.
By late December James had disbanded his army and fled to France. With James gone, Parliament debated whether William would rule as King in his own right, or as Queen Mary's consort. Lord Cornbury argued for placing his cousin Anne next in succession after Mary, bypassing William. In the end, Parliament favoured William, who viewed Cornbury's support of Anne as disloyal, and reneged on his battlefield vow that he would never forget Cornbury's service. He punished Cornbury by dismissing him from his regiment on 17 July 1689, and from his ceremonial post as Master of Horse in May 1690.
Cornbury now found himself and his family without income and in increasing debt. As a noble, he could not simply get a job, he would need to find income through royal or political means. He struggled to get by from 1690 through 1698. However, he continued to represent parliament, and his political support of William paid off in multiple ways. In 1698, William agreed to pay £10 a week (equal to £1,490 today) to Cornbury, easing his financial burdens. In the spring of 1701, William rewarded Cornbury's continued support and service and appointed Cornbury as Governor of New York.
William died before Cornbury become governor, and the crown went to Queen Mary II's younger sister, Anne. Cornbury's support of her for the throne in the Glorious Revolution, combined with being her first cousin, served Cornbury well. Anne continued to support Cornbury, and would reward him generously on his return from the governorship.
Governor of New York and New Jersey
Lord Cornbury arrived in New York on 3 May 1702, to begin his governorship and was graciously welcomed by the local aristocracy. Hyde assumed the governorship amidst Queen Anne's War, which threatened the colonies. When Lord Cornbury was appointed governor, he was also made "captain-general of all forces by sea and land" for all colonies north of Virginia. Upon arrival, the new governor inspected the colony's ring of defensive forts and found them in total disrepair, with the key defensive fort at Albany essentially unusable. In August 1703, the newly formed Province of New Jersey was added to Cornbury's responsibilities by Queen Anne.