Revolutionary War Continental Army Brigadier General. The brother of Vice President George Clinton and father of Governor DeWitt Clinton, he was born in Little Britain in what is now Orange County, New York. In 1857 he followed his father and brother into England's provincial army for the French and Indian War, receiving an Ensign's commission and taking part in several engagements, including the capture of Fort Frontenac. At the start of the Revolution he was named Colonel and commander of the 3rd New York Regiment, and took part in Richard Montgomery's 1775 Quebec expedition. In March 1776, 2nd New York Regiment became part of his command, and in August he was promoted to Brigadier General. In 1777 he commanded Fort Clinton, an Orange County fortification designed to prevent the British from advancing up the Hudson River, and participated in the effort to prevent General Sir Henry Clinton from rescuing General John Burgoyne at Saratoga. In 1779 Clinton led an expedition down the Susquehanna River after making the upper portion navigable by damming its Otsego Lake source, and then destroying the dam to make the river rise, an event recounted in James Fenimore Cooper's novel "The Pioneers." In 1780 he temporarily commanded the Northern Department, and in 1781 his brigade took part in the siege of Yorktown. At the end of the war he received the brevet of Major General and returned to his Little Britain farm. In the late 1780s he served on the commission that settled the New York-Pennsylvania boundary. He also served as a Delegate to the state convention that ratified the US Constitution and a member of the New York Senate.
Revolutionary War Continental Army Brigadier General. The brother of Vice President George Clinton and father of Governor DeWitt Clinton, he was born in Little Britain in what is now Orange County, New York. In 1857 he followed his father and brother into England's provincial army for the French and Indian War, receiving an Ensign's commission and taking part in several engagements, including the capture of Fort Frontenac. At the start of the Revolution he was named Colonel and commander of the 3rd New York Regiment, and took part in Richard Montgomery's 1775 Quebec expedition. In March 1776, 2nd New York Regiment became part of his command, and in August he was promoted to Brigadier General. In 1777 he commanded Fort Clinton, an Orange County fortification designed to prevent the British from advancing up the Hudson River, and participated in the effort to prevent General Sir Henry Clinton from rescuing General John Burgoyne at Saratoga. In 1779 Clinton led an expedition down the Susquehanna River after making the upper portion navigable by damming its Otsego Lake source, and then destroying the dam to make the river rise, an event recounted in James Fenimore Cooper's novel "The Pioneers." In 1780 he temporarily commanded the Northern Department, and in 1781 his brigade took part in the siege of Yorktown. At the end of the war he received the brevet of Major General and returned to his Little Britain farm. In the late 1780s he served on the commission that settled the New York-Pennsylvania boundary. He also served as a Delegate to the state convention that ratified the US Constitution and a member of the New York Senate.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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