Henry Clinton (British Army officer)

Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton, GCB, GCH (9 March 1771 – 11 December 1829) was a Lieutenant General in the British army during the Napoleonic Wars.

He came from a family of soldiers. His elder brother was General Sir William Henry Clinton (1769–1846), his father was General Sir Henry Clinton (1738–1795) the British Commander-in-Chief in North America during the American Revolutionary War and his grandfather was Admiral of the Fleet George Clinton (1686–1761).

Early military career

Clinton received his officer's commission in 1787. He went on to serve in the Flanders campaign as an aide-de-camp to the Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany starting in 1793. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1795. Captured by the French, he was a prisoner in 1796–1797. During the 1799 campaign in northern Italy, he was a liaison officer with Alexander Suvarov's Russian army. He went to India as adjutant general from 1802 to 1805.

At the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, Clinton was the British military attaché to the Russian army. He commanded the garrison of Syracuse in Sicily in 1806–1807. He became a Member of Parliament in 1808 and continued his political career for ten years.

Peninsula

During the campaign and Battle of Corunna in 1808–1809, he served as Sir John Moore's adjutant general. He was promoted to major-general in 1810.

During the remainder of the Peninsular War he commanded an infantry division under the Duke of Wellington. He was first appointed to command the 6th Division on February 9 1812. During the Battle of Salamanca, his division played a key part by defeating French General Bertrand Clausel's counterattack. He then led his division in the Siege of Burgos campaign. From January 26 to June 25 1813, Clinton was absent and Edward Pakenham took over the 6th Division. For his conduct in the Vitoria campaign, Clinton was made a knight of the Order of the Bath.

He was absent again from July 22 to October, when he again assumed command of the 6th Division. He was given the local rank of lieutenant general in 1813. He took part in the subsequent victories at the battles of the Nivelle, the Nive, Orthez and Toulouse. At the end of the Peninsular War he was made a lieutenant general and inspector-general of infantry.

Waterloo

In 1815 during the Battle of Waterloo, Clinton led the 2nd Division which Wellington posted in reserve behind his right flank. The 2nd Division included the 3rd British Brigade (Maj-Gen Frederick Adam), the 1st King's German Legion (KGL) Brigade (Col Du Plat), the 3rd Hanoverian Brigade (Col Hugh Halkett) and Lieut-Col Gold's two artillery batteries (Bolton RA and Sympher KGL). His troops helped to defeat and pursue Napoleon's Imperial Guard at the end of the battle. He died on December 11 1829.

References

* Chandler, David. "Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars." Macmillan, 1979.
* Glover, Michael. "The Peninsular War 1807-1814." Penguin, 1974.
* Haythornethwaite, Philip. "Uniforms of Waterloo in color." Hippocrene, 1974.
* Oman, Charles. "Wellington's Army, 1809-1814." Greenhill, (1913) 1993.

External links

* http://59.1911encyclopedia.org/C/CL/CLINTON_SIR_HENRY.htm