Sir Henry Clinton

Sir Henry Clinton (1738-95), British soldier, born in Newfoundland, son of George Clinton, who was British colonial governor of Newfoundland (1732-41) and of New York (1741-51). Clinton served from 1760 to 1762 with the British army in Germany during the Seven Years' War and in America during the American Revolution. As a major general he fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775 and took possession of New York City after the defeat of the forces of General George Washington in the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776. For his part in that battle he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and was knighted. In 1778 he succeeded Sir William Howe as commander in chief of British forces in North America, and on his march from Philadelphia to New York he fought the unsuccessful Battle of Monmouth against Washington. After leading an expedition to South Carolina in December 1779, he captured Charleston on May 12, 1780. He was in constant disagreement with General Charles Cornwallis, his second in command. In 1782, after Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown, Clinton was replaced by the British commander Sir Guy Carleton. Clinton returned to England and soon afterward wrote an account justifying his actions in the war in America. From 1794 until his death he was governor of Gibraltar.