Howe and his forces became pinned down in Bos-
ton when the colonists, under George Washington,
seized the heights at Dorchester. Howe was therefore
forced to evacuate British troops from the city on 17
March 1776. Clinton then went to Charleston, South
Carolina, where he commanded an expedition that re-
sulted in a British defeat at Fort Sullivan (28 June 1776).
Clinton served under Howe in the battle of Long Island
(27 August 1776) and in the taking of New York (15
September 1776), for which he was knighted in 1777.
When Howe was recalled to London, Clinton replaced
him as commander in chief of British troops on 21
March 1778. However, by this time the Americans had
taken control of the conflict, and Clinton’s leadership
could not stop the ultimate outcome. Although his ten-
ure as commander was marked by the British defeat of
Washington at Monmouth Courthouse in New Jersey
(28 June 1778) and his taking Charleston in May 1780,
British rule in America was ending. Clinton was on his
way from New York when Lieutenant General Charles
Lord cornWallis surrendered at Yorktown (12 Octo-
ber 1781). Held to blame for his failure to aid Cornwal-
lis, he resigned his command on 26 March 1782 and
turned it over to Sir Guy Carleton.
Clinton returned to England, where he was re-
elected to the House of Commons in 1790. Promoted to
the rank of full general in October 1793, he was named
governor of Gibraltar in July 1794, but illness did not
allow him to take the post. His last years were marked
not so much by service to country as by an unending
campaign, with the backing of supporters, to clear his
name as to the full blame for the British loss at York-
town, which he claimed belonged solely to Cornwallis.
But, whereas Cornwallis was given additional com-
mands—most notably in India—Clinton was appointed
to insignificant posts. He died in Cornwall on 23 De-
cember 1795. His son, Sir Henry Clinton (1771–1829),
was also a distinguished British military officer, serving
in the Corunna campaign (1808–09) in the Peninsular
War and commanding a regiment at Waterloo (1815).
Clinton’s memoirs were printed as A Narrative of
the Campaign in 1781 in North America (1783). His let-
ters and papers, remaining in his family’s possession for
more than 160 years, were published as The American
Rebellion (1954), which argued that he was completely
blameless for the disaster in the colonies. Historian and
editor William L. Wilcox writes that Clinton’s tome was
an “apologia for a career that failed. But the failure, in the
last analysis, came from a cause that he would have died
rather than admit. His nemesis was himself.” Many his-
torians have now come to believe that Clinton was cor-
rect in blaming Cornwallis for the defeat at Yorktown.References: Clinton, Sir Henry, The American Rebellion:
Sir Henry Clinton’s Narrative of His Campaigns, 1775–
1782, with an Appendix of Original Documents, edited by
William B. Willcox (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University
Press, 1954); Willcox, William B., Portrait of a General:
Sir Henry Clinton in the War of Independence (New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1964); Ketchum, Richard M., “The
Decisive Day is Come,” American Heritage 13, no. 5 (Au-
gust 1962): 80–93; Clinton, Sir Henry, The Narrative of
Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton, K.B., Relative to His
Conduct During Part of His Command of the King’s Troops
in North America,... (London: Printed for J. Debrett,
1783); Patterson, J., State of the Troops, British and Ger-
man, under the Command of Lieutenant-General Sir Henry
Clinton, at New-York, and Posts Depending, October 1,
1777 (New York[?], 1777).Clive, Robert Clive, Baron (1725–1774)
British general
The son of a lawyer, Robert Clive was born at his fam-
ily’s estate, Styche, in the parish of Moreton Say, near
Market Drayton, Shropshire, on 29 September 1725.
The family, having originated with the name Clyve, had
held the estate of Styche since the reign of Henry II; one
of Clive’s ancestors served as a member of Parliament
during the Long Parliament (1640–60). In 1743, when
Clive was 18, he became a writer, or clerk, for the British
East India Company and was sent to Madras, India; he
arrived in 1744.
In 1746, as part of the ongoing conflict between
Great Britain and France, the French captured Madras,
and Clive was taken prisoner. However, he escaped
his captors and made his way to British lines, where he
was drafted into the army with the rank of ensign. Im-
mediately, he displayed great courage and so impressed
his superiors that he was given a command and took part
in three battles. Promoted to captain, in August 1751 he
led a contingent of men to Arcot, near Bellore, about 65
miles west of Madras. Historian George Bruce writes:This fortress was captured by ensign [Clive had
in fact already been promoted to captain] Robertclive, RobeRt clive, bARon