MEMOIR of LIEUT. GENERAL SIR HENRY CLINTON, G. C. B. G. C. H. COL. of the THIRD REGIMENT. This distinguished officer was the second son of general sir Henry Clinton (who commanded in chief in America, during a great part of the war of the Revolution in that country), and was educated at Eton. He first began his active public life in the sea-service, in compliance with the suggestions of his father. In the year 1786 he embarked as a midshipman, in the Salisbury, captain Erasmus Gore, carrying the broad pennant of commodore Elliot, and went to Newfoundland. He returned in the autumn of that year; but he had suffered so much from seasickness (a malady from which he was, whilst on ship-board, seldom free), that he found it impossible to continue in the naval service. On this account he determined to quit it for a military life, and went abroad for the purpose of learning the French and German languages, and otherwise qualifying himself for his new profession. In the course of the years 1787, 8, and 9, he resided at Tours and Valenciennes, visited several parts of France and Germany, and was finally induced by favourable circumstances to take up his residence at Maestricht, which was then chiefly garrisoned by the troops of Brunswick, in the pay of Holland, and under the command of general de Reidesel. His father was not only well acquainted with that officer (who had served during the American war with a body of German troops in the pay of England), but, having acted as aide-de-camp to the then reigning duke of Brunswick during the seven years German war, from his consequent intimacy with that sovereign prince, obtained leave for his son to serve temporarily in one of the Brunswick battalions. In that service he continued from the autumn of 1788 to the end of the summer of 1789; during which interval he passed through every duty, from that of the common soldier to that of the corporal, sergeant, and sub-lieutenant, as is customary in the German service. While thus employed, he was, on the recommendation of the late duke of Gloucester, appointed to an ensigncy in the 1st regiment of Foot Guards, and joined that corps in the autumn of 1789; from which time, till the end of the campaign of 1815, his life was a series of active, and for the greater part of it, of very distinguished, military service. From the time he joined the Guards, to the commencement of the long war of the French Revolution, every leave of absence that he obtained from the regiment was passed in visits to the Continent, with a view to professional improvement. During these excursions, besides visiting Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, and other interesting parts of Germany, he took an opportunity of attending the Prussian reviews. In the campaigns of 1793 and 4, he served as aide-de-camp to his late royal highness the duke of York, in Flanders and Holland. In the course of 1793 he was present at the affair in the Wood of St. Amand, the battle of Famars, the siege of Valenciennes, and the attack of Dunkirk, and in 1794 at the affair of Vaux (the news of the successful result of which he was selected to convey to his late majesty), and the attack of the 10th of May, near Tournay. On the last occasion he was severely wounded, which prevented him from being actively employed till the autumn of that year, when he again joined his royal highness. In the year 1796, being very anxious to engage in more active service than he could have done as aide-de-camp in England, he went with the expedition under the late sir Ralph Abercrombie to St. Lucia, and afterwards joined the 66th regiment, of which he had recently been appointed lieutenant-colonel, at Port-au-Prince, St. Domingo. Here his health was severely affected by the climate; and as there did not appear the least probability of any active operations in that island, his friends obtained an exchange for him into the 1st regiment of Guards, which he again joined in the course of the year 1797. He had in the interim been taken prisoner on his passage to Europe, and carried to Nantes, and it was not without much difficulty that he obtained an exchange. In the summer of 1798 he embarked with the 3rd battalion of the 1st Guards for Ireland, and there served that short but active campaign, when he was appointed aide-de-camp to the lord-lieutenant, marquis Cornwallis, who placed him temporarily at the head of the 3rd battalion of Light Infantry, and, on the invasion of the French under general Humbert, in the autumn of that year, called on him to act on his personal staff. In the summer of 1799, lord William Bentinck having been charged with a military mission to the Austro-Russian army in Italy, then under the command of marshal Suwarrow, lieutenantcolonel H. Clinton was appointed to accompany him; served during the remainder of that campaign, at the head-quarters of the Russian marshal, and was present at the battles of the Trebia and Novi, and at the sieges of Alexandria and Tortona, and the attack of Serravel. At this latter place, while observing it in a rather exposed situation, he received a slight contusion on the shoulder. In the autumn of that year, marshal Suwarrow having been ordered to march with his victorious Russians over the Alps for the purpose of joining the Russian corps under general Korsakow in Switzerland, which was threatened with an attack from the French army under general Massena, lieutenant-colonel H. Clinton was selected by lord Mulgrave, then on a mission to the emperor of Austria, to accompany the Russian commander-in-chief. The advanced season of the year rendered that enterprise in the highest degree perilous; though happily executed, it was not accomplished without the severest exertions, the loss of a considerable number of men, and some very sharp fighting; more especially near the famous pass of the Teufels-Bruch, and in the Muttenthal. On the subsequent retreat of the allied army, and withdrawal of the Russian troops from the scene of action, lieutenant-colonel H. Clinton returned to England, and was on the point of joining his old chief, the marquis Cornwallis, in Dublin, when he was selected to go on a military mission to the Austrian army, under the command of the arch-duke Charles, and was present in the actions which took place in Swabia and Bavaria in the early part of that campaign (1800). When that army, after the disasters of general Melas in Italy, desisted from all active operations, lieutenant-colonel H. Clinton availed himself of the opportunity to visit Salzburg and its environs, and at the approaching Austrian peace of Luneville, after passing a short time at Vienna, he returned to England, when he was employed on the staff of the adjutant-general's department. In 1803 he embarked for the East Indies, having been appointed adjutant-general to the king's troops in that country. On his arrival he proceeded immediately up to Agra, at that time besieged by the commander-in-chief; but owing to impediments on the road (his baggage being plundered by banditti, and himself detained for want of bearers), he did not reach the place till just as it surrendered. He was afterwards present, and commanded with great distinction on the right of the army, at the battle of Laswarree. In the month of September of that year, he was promoted to the rank of colonel by brevet; and all appearance of further active operations in India being at an end, colonel H. Clinton resigned his lucrative staff situation, and returned to Europe. In the year 1805, he was charged with a military mission to Berlin, and was proceeding with important despatches to the head-quarters of the Russian army, when, on arriving at Neustadt in Silesia, he heard of the disastrous day of Austerlitz. He nevertheless proceeded to Troppau; but, after communicating with the British ambassador to the Court of Russia, he returned to Berlin, and thence to England, as the repeated defeats of the Austro-Russian army precluded all hope of success in the object of his mission, In the summer of 1806, he embarked with the 3rd battalion of Guards, part of the brigade then proceeding to Sicily, and served in that island till the latter end of 1807, commanding a battalion, composed of the flank companies of the Guards, and stationed for the greater part of the time at Syracuse. Upon seeing these troops, the late sir John Moore observed, "that excepting his own regiment (the 52nd) he had not seen any corps that was so much to his mind what a battalion should be, to be considered perfectly efficient for service, whether in garrison or the field." The brigade of Guards having been withdrawn from Sicily, colonel H, Clinton returned to England early in 1808, and in the spring of that year, he was appointed to the command of a brigade, forming part of the troops which proceeded in the month of May, under sir John Moore, to Sweden. On his return to England after the conclusion of that service, he was appointed adjutant-general to the forces then embarking, as a reinforcement to the troops which had recently landed under the command of lieutenant-general sir Arthur Wellesley, in Portugal, and he joined that army with the then commander of the forces, lieutenant- general sir H. Burrard, on the memorable day of Vimeira. After the business of Cintra, and the return of sir Hew Dalrymple and sir H. Burrard to England, sir John Moore having succeeded to the command, colonel H. Clinton continued in the active duties of adjutant-general, and was present with the army during its advance into Spain, and in the retreat to Corunna, which followed and closed the operations of the campaign. During the whole of this trying period, his zeal and activity were most conspicuous, and his labours so severe and unremitting, that on his arrival at Corunna he was completely exhausted with fatigue and extreme bodily suffering, and did not for several months recover his health. On a vacancy, caused by the death of brigadier-general Anstruther (who had sunk under the zealous discharge of his duties in the retreat), colonel H. Clinton was appointed adjutant-general in Ireland. The duties of that situation he continued to fulfill, till the autumn of the year 1811,when, having urgently pressed for more active service, he was appointed (having then obtained the rank of majorgeneral) to a brigade in Portugal. He proceeded to lord Wellington's head-quarters, who, in the course of a short time, appointed him to the command of the 6th division of the army at the head of which he continued, with the exception of two short leaves of absence on account of ill-health, till the evacuation of France by the British army in the summer of 1814. Previous to the battle of Salamanca, major-general H. Clinton was charged with the reduction of the forts near that place. On the 22nd of July, 1812, when, after three days of manoeuvres in each other's presence, the two hostile armies met, the 6th division, under the major-general's command, was eminently distinguished. At a very critical moment of that memorable day, the steadiness evinced by that division, and the resolute movement so timely made by the gallant troops which composed it, against the advancing enemy, were the admiration of all who witnessed the scene, and led to the most glorious results. For his services on this occasion, the thanks of parliament were voted to the major-general, and the order of the Bath was conferred on him. When Lord Wellington marched in August of that year to Madrid, major general H. Clinton was left in the command of that part of the army which was stationed near the Douro, to observe the enemy on that side; and he was afterwards present at the siege of the castle of Burgos, and in the retreat to the frontiers of Portugal, which took place on its abandonment. Having been obliged in the spring of 1813, owing to impaired health, to return to England, he was unable to join the army again, until after the investment of Pamplona. He was afterwards present and very actively and conspicuously engaged in the battles at the passage of the Neville in November and of the Nive in December 1813. In the first of these actions, in the attack upon the intrenched position of Marshal Soult, at the passage of the river, Sir H. Clinton's bold and rapid movement to dislodge the enemy from the steep and difficult part of the position, a service which fell to the lot of the sixth division, attracted general attention; and after the passage of the Nive, the sixth division acted on both banks of that river in the close investment of Bayonne, between the rivers Nive and Adour, in relieving and supporting those divisions of the army that were moved occasionally in aid of the troops on the left of the position, which was frequently and perseveringly attacked by Marshal Soult. At the battle of Orthe's, on the 27th February, 1814, the fifth and sixth divisions took a distinguished and decisive part in forcing the enemy's position, by a direct attack upon his centre. Sir Henry was afterwards at the affair of Tarbes, upon which occasion the sixth division was directed on the right of the enemy's position, and by the able manner in which the movement was conducted, opportunity was given to sir Stapylton Cotton, with the cavalry, to threaten the rear of the enemy, which caused Marshal Soult to abandon the position. At the battle of Toulouse, on the 10th of April, which terminated the glorious campaign of 1814; the fourth division, under sir L. Cole, and the sixth, under sir H. Clinton, moved in column down the plain, at the foot of the strongly-intrenched position, during which they were exposed to a galling fire of artillery. Their march was, however, continued with the utmost regularity, and when the head of the column was opposite the right of the enemy's position, the two divisions formed line, boldly ascended the heights, and the first line of works was carried without a check. During this movement, some French cavalry sallied from the heights, and threatened the right of the sixth division, but a few companies thrown back en potence, opposed a front to the cavalry, who ventured not to approach; nor did this cause any delay, or the slightest impediment to the steady and resolute forward movement of the line. When the Spanish troops (who, at the extreme right of the grand attack, had first begun the battle, and had been forced to retreat), after the brilliant advantages gained by the two British divisions, were moved to the left, to act with and on sir H. Clinton's right, the subsequent well-judged operations of the sixth division, completed the success of that great day. For this, and other previous distinguished service, the thanks of parliament were again voted to sir H. Clinton. In the month of June, the major-general, returned through France, and by Paris, to England. On his arrival, he was immediately appointed inspector of infantry, but ere he could proceed on the duties of his new appointment, he was selected to be second in command to the army ordered to be formed in Flanders, under the hereditary Prince of Orange, just then returned from the Peninsula and France, where he had been serving as aide-de-camp to the duke of Wellington. Sir H. Clinton, who had now obtained the brevet rank of lieutenant-general, repaired to his station with his usual alacrity, and, during the remaining part of that year (1814) and all the spring of the following |