Henry Clinton was born in 1738 as the son of an Admiral. Clinton began
his military career early and served in the Seven Years War. He was appointed
to a seat in Parliament, but the death of his beloved wife, Harriet, sent
Clinton into a depression that he could not shake, and in turn did not
take his seat. Clinton then became second in command to Commander-in-Chief
Howe. Even at this point Clinton was having trouble interacting with both
his superiors and subordinates. Despite these problems Clinton was knighted
by the Crown in 1777.
Clinton had a great impact on the dynamics of the American Revolution.
Clinton made the initial contacts with Benedict Arnold that led to Arnold's
betrayal of the Patriots. He was the main architect of the decision to
offer freedom to any rebel's slave who could desert to the British lines.
On June 30, 1779, in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, Clinton issued a proclamation
stating that every Negro who would desert the rebel standard and join
with the British would be afforded British protection. This was a turning
point of the war because only men who could fight were previously offered
British protection.
Clinton also insisted that Loyalist owned slaves who ran away from their
masters should not be punished. This may give the impression that Clinton
respected slaves' right to freedom, but in a contradictory statement he
announced that any slave that was seized during the war should become
public property and be used for public works. At the end of the war all
of these slaves were returned to their masters as part of the peace agreement.
Near the end of the war Clinton was forced to refuse acceptance to any
new Blacks who were fleeing their masters to join the British.
In October of 1781, Clinton failed to arrive in time to reinforce
Cornwallis at Yorktown, resulting in a devastating defeat for the British. Under pressure,
he then turned his command over to Sir Guy Carleton. Clinton had become
more cautious and had developed a tendency towards self-doubt, which proved
to be his undoing. He had suspected Washington was feinting to throw him
off, but feared an attack on New York and was trapped in indecision. This
ended his military career. The Yorktown surrender was the crucial turning
point of the revolution, and many British blamed him for the loss of the war.
Throughout his life Clinton was obsessed with correspondence.
He began collecting and making copies of all letters that were in his
possession. Many think that this duplication strategy was to protect himself
from any possible repercussions associated with the choices he made throughout
his military career. Clinton spent the last twelve years of his life compiling
his memoirs into a book. He entitled his book The American Rebellion.
It was not published until many years after his death.
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