Henry Clinton (American War of Independence) - Legacy

Legacy

Sir Henry Clinton held the command in America for four years, ending in disaster and defeat. As a result, he was widely seen to share in the blame for the defeat. Biographer William Willcox, in his analysis of Clinton's tenure in North America, observes that at times "Sir Henry's ideas were not carried out for reasons that lay to some extent within himself", and that he and Admiral Graves "apparently ignored the danger" of de Grasse in 1781. However, Willcox notes that campaign plans Clinton formulated for 1777, 1779 and 1780 were frustrated by external events he could not control, and Willcox generally blames Cornwallis for the failure of the Carolina campaign. (In contrast, Cornwallis biographers Franklin and Mary Wickwire point out that Cornwallis' failures are at least partially attributable to directives of Clinton that left him with relatively inadequate troop strength and irregular supply lines.)

Major James Wemyss, who served under Clinton, wrote that he was "an honourable and respectable officer of the German school; having served under Prince Ferdinand of Prussia and the Duke of Brunswick. Vain, open to flattery; and from a great aversion to all business not military, too often misled by aides and favourites", but also pointed out that Clinton's interests were narrow and that he was crippled by self-distrust. Colonel Sir Charles Stuart described him as "fool enough to command an army when he is incapable of commanding a troop of horse." Historian Piers Mackesy writes that he was "a very capable general in the field."

Letters from General Sir Henry Clinton during the Revolutionary War can be found in the political papers of his cousin, Henry Pelham-Clinton, in the Newcastle (Clumber) Collection held at Manuscripts and Special Collections, The University of Nottingham.