Henry Clinton
BIRTH
Apr 16, 1730
St. John's, Newfoundland
DEATH
December 23, 1795
London, England
Commander in Chief of British Forces in America
1778-1782
Member of Parliament
1772-1779
British Army
1745-1793
FAMILY
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Clinton, Henry
(1730-1795)
General Sir Henry Clinton was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1772 and 1795. He is best known for his service as a general during the American War of Independence.
GRAVE:
CHURCH
St. George's Chapel
2 The Cloisters, Windsor SL4 1NJ, United Kingdom
17
SISTER
Harriet Clinton
WIFE
Harriet Carter
(1747-1772)
WIFE
Mary O'Callaghan
(1756-1820)
Harriet Clinton
Frederick Henry Baddeley
(1794-1879)
Augusta Clinton
(1768-?)
Maj.-Gen. William Clinton-Baddeley
(1783-1842)
Places | Image | Address | GPS | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Boston Common | 139 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02111 | PARK | ||
Monmouth Battlefield State Park | 20 NJ-33 Business, Manalapan Township, NJ 07726 | MUSEUM | ||
Battle of Brooklyn Marker | Belt Parkway, New York, New York, 11209, USA | MARKER | ||
Fort Box Well Marker | 391 Pacific St, Brooklyn, NY 11217 | MARKER | ||
Fort Stirling Marker | 154 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201 | MARKER | ||
Henry Clinton Union Marker | 2515 Vauxhall Rd, Union, NJ 07083 | MARKER | ||
Howard's Inn Marker-Jamaica Pass | 1605 Bushwick Avenue, New York, New York, 11207, USA | MARKER | ||
Milestone Park Marker | 18th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11214 | MARKER | ||
Rockaway Footpath-Jamaica Pass Marker | Vanderveer Street, New York, New York, 11207, USA | MARKER | ||
Before There Was A Park Marker | 5th Avenue, New York, New York, 10035, USA | MARKER | ||
British Retreat Marker 3 | 415 Kings Highway East, Middletown Township, New Jersey, 07748, USA | MARKER | ||
Kingsbridge Road Marker | East Drive, New York, New York, 10026, USA | MARKER | ||
British Campsite Marker | 261 Locust Ave, Rumson, NJ 07760 | MARKER | ||
British Campsite After Monmouth Marker | 259 Navesink Ave, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716 | MARKER | ||
British Embarkation Marker Sandyhook | Hartshorne Drive, Middletown Township, New Jersey, 07732, USA | MARKER | ||
British Retreat Marker 2 | 58 Kings Highway, Middletown Township, New Jersey, 07748, USA | MARKER | ||
British Retreat Marker | NJ 35, Middletown Township, New Jersey, 07748, USA | MARKER |
DIED:
London, England
Dec 23, 1795
Born in Newfoundland in 1730, Henry Clinton was the son of George Clinton, an admiral in the British Navy and the governor of Newfoundland. At the age of fifteen, Henry took his first military commission in the New York militia. One year later, his father’s connections secured him a captain’s commission and, in 1749, he left the colonies for Britain to further his military career. Henry first saw action during the Seven Years’ War. In 1762, he received a post in Germany and became the aide-de-camp to Prince Ferdinand.
Clinton, along with Major Generals William Howe and John Burgoyne, was sent with reinforcements to strengthen the position of General Thomas Gage in Boston. They arrived on 25 May, having learned en route that the American War of Independence had broken out, and that Boston was under siege.
Clinton replaced General Howe as Commander-in-Chief of North America. Looking to capitalize on some of the success the British experienced the previous year, particularly at Savannah, Georgia, Clinton turned his attention to the Southern Colonies. In 1780, Clinton initiated a siege of Charleston, South Carolina and eventually forced the surrender of the city. This marked a major British victory and sparked a campaign to secure South Carolina.
Despite Cornwallis’s prominent role in the loss and surrender, Clinton, as Commander-in-Chief, was blamed for the loss of the American colonies. After the Revolution, he published a narrative account of the war in an attempt to clear his name. By 1793, Clinton became a full general and received an assignment as Governor of Gibraltar. He died before he could assume the post.