Clinton, Sir Henry (1730-1795), served as commander in chief of the British Army from 1778 to 1782, during the American Revolution. After France joined the war on the patriots’ side, Clinton retreated from Philadelphia to New York. In 1780, he invaded South Carolina and captured Charleston. He returned to New York, leaving Lord Charles Cornwallis in command in the South. After Cornwallis surrendered in 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia, Clinton resigned. He turned over his command in May 1782. Clinton was widely blamed for Cornwallis’s defeat, and he spent much of the remainder of his life working to repair his reputation.
Clinton was probably born on April 16, 1730. His father later served as the royal governor of Newfoundland and of New York. Clinton entered military service as a teenager in New York. He returned to England in 1749 and received a commission in the British Army in 1751. In 1775, he was assigned to serve as third in command of the British forces in North America. He died in London on Dec. 23, 1795. See also Cornwallis, Charles ; Monmouth, Battle of .
