Sir Henry Clinton
WHO HE WAS: Sir Henry Clinton was the British Commander in Chief for most of the Revolutionary War. He was born in Newfoundland in Canada in 1730. His father was the governor there. Being from the family of a royal governor of a colony meant that Henry Clinton was raised to be very loyal to King George.
He began his military career when he was eighteen and quickly moved up in rank. Clinton was sent to Boston in 1775 along with two other major generals and many reinforcements. They were to squash the rebellion that was starting. He was one of the field commanders at the Battle of Bunker Hill and would go on to be in charge of the entire British army during most of the Revolutionary War.
By 1781, he began to have very big doubts about whether or not he would be able to win the war for the British. He said the following when he wrote a book on his experience during the Revolutionary War.
WHAT HE SAID:
¨I never dared promise myself that any exertions of mine, with my very reduced force (nearly one-third less than that of my predecessor) could bring the war to a happy conclusion.¨ - From Narrative of the Campaign of 1781 in North America by Sir Henry Clinton.
