William Henry Clinton

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Sir William Henry Clinton, GCB (December 23, 1769-February 15, 1846) was a British general during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars as well as the First Miguelist War. He was also the grandson of Admiral George Clinton and elder brother of Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton.

Born to Sir Henry Clinton in 1769, Clinton entered the British Army in 1784 as a coronet in the 7th Light Dragoons. Under the Duke of York, Clinton took part in the Flanders and Low Countries campaigns as a Captain in the 1st Guards in 1793, winning promotion to Lieutenant Colonel the following year. Serving as a member of Parliament from 1794-1796, he left Parliament to become aide-de-camp to the Duke of York.

In 1799, Clinton traveled to Italy on a diplomatic mission to Russian forces, before returning to take part in the Dutch expedition later that year. In 1801, he was promoted to the rank of colonel participated in the capture of Madeira, and later appointed governor of Madeira from July 1801 until March 1802, before returning to Parliament in 1806. After another diplomatic mission to Sweden in 1807, Clinton became a Major General the following year.

During 1812, Clinton served in the Mediterranean leading a division at Messina, Italy. Commanding the 1st Division during the Duke of Wellington's Spanish Campaign from 1812 to 1813, Clinton won distinction during the Battle of Castalla on April 13, 1813. In June 1813, Clinton became commander-in-chief of the British Forces in eastern Spain serving until April 1814, however he would see little action for the remainder of the war. After promotion to Lieutenant General, Clinton was knighted Order of the Bath in 1815.

Returning to his post as a member of Parliament, he would command a division consisting of around 5,000 soldiers during the First Miguelist War where he attempted to support Portuguese forces from December 1826 until April 1828. Promoted a full general, Clinton resigned from Parliament serving as governor of Chelsea Hospital from 1842 until his death on February 15, 1846 on Cockenhatch, near Royston, Herts.