William Henry Clinton

Sir William Clinton
Born 23 December 1769
Died 15 February 1846 (aged 76)
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Rank General
Battles/wars French Revolutionary
Napoleonic Wars
First Miguelist War
Awards Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

General Sir William Henry Clinton GCB KCH (23 December 1769 – 15 February 1846) was a British general during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars as well as the First Miguelist War. He was also the grandson of Admiral George Clinton and elder brother of Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton.

Military career

Born to General Sir Henry Clinton in 1769, Clinton entered the British Army in 1784 as a cornet in the 7th Light Dragoons. Under the Duke of York, Clinton took part in the Flanders and Low Countries campaigns as a Captain in the 1st Guards in 1793, winning promotion to Lieutenant Colonel the following year. Serving as a Member of Parliament (MP) for East Retford from 1794 to 1796, he left Parliament to become aide-de-camp to the Duke of York.

In 1799, Clinton traveled to Italy on a diplomatic mission to Russian forces, before returning to take part in the Dutch expedition later that year. In 1801, he was promoted to the rank of colonel participated in the capture of Madeira, and later appointed governor of Madeira from July 1801 until March 1802, before becoming Military Secretary in 1803 and Quartermaster-General in Ireland in 1804. He returned to Parliament in 1806 as MP for Boroughbridge, a seat he held until 1818. After another diplomatic mission to Sweden in 1807, Clinton became a Major General the following year.

During 1812, Clinton served in the Mediterranean leading a division at Messina on the Italian island of Sicily, where he commanded a force of 12,000 British and Spanish troops.[1] Commanding the 1st Division during the Duke of Wellington's Spanish Campaign from 1812 to 1813, Clinton won distinction during the Battle of Castalla on 13 April 1813. In June 1813, Clinton became commander-in-chief of the British Forces in eastern Spain serving until April 1814, however he would see little action for the remainder of the war. After promotion to Lieutenant General, Clinton was knighted Order of the Bath in 1815.

Returning to his post as a member of Parliament, he would command a division consisting of around 5,000 soldiers during the First Miguelist War where he attempted to support Portuguese forces from December 1826 until April 1828. Promoted a full general, Clinton resigned from Parliament serving as governor of Chelsea Hospital from 1842 until his death on 15 February 1846 on Cockenhatch, near Royston, Herts. There is a memorial plaque to Clinton in St. Mary Magdalene Church, Barkway, Herts.[2]

Personal

Clinton was married to Lady Dorothea Louisa Holroyd and had two sons who both served in the British Army.

References

Attribution

External links

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Sir John Ingilby
The Earl of Lincoln
Member of Parliament for East Retford
1794–1796
With: Sir John Ingilby
Succeeded by
William Petrie
Sir Wharton Amcotts
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Edward Berkeley Portman
Viscount Castlereagh
Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge
18061818
With: Henry Dawkins to 1808
Henry Clinton from 1808
Succeeded by
Marmaduke Lawson
George Mundy
Preceded by
Henry Willoughby
George Dawkins-Pennant
Member of Parliament for Newark
1818–1829
With: Henry Willoughby
Succeeded by
Henry Willoughby
Michael Thomas Sadler
Military offices
Preceded by
Robert Brownrigg
Military Secretary
1803–1804
Succeeded by
James Gordon
Preceded by
Sir Colin Campbell
Colonel of the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot
1814–1846
Succeeded by
The Lord Saltoun
Preceded by
Sir George Murray
Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance
1825–1829
Succeeded by
Lord Edward Somerset
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.