Admiral of the Fleet George Clinton (c. 1686 – 10 July 1761) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and politician. Benefiting from the patronage of

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (21 July 1693 – 17 November 1768) was an English Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prim ...

, he served as a naval captain during the 1720s and 1730s. Clinton went on to be Governor of the Colony of Newfoundland, Commodore and Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet and then Governor of the Province of New York where he had to deal with the threat of a French attack during King George's War. He could not cope with the liberal politicians of the New York assembly who were led by James De Lancey and resigned in 1753. Clinton also served as Member of Parliament for Saltash, a

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or Electoral district, constituency in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, or the United Kin ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, from March 1757 until his death in July 1761.

Early career

HMS Marlborough apres bataille de Toulon 1744 anonyme

Born the second son of Francis Clinton, 6th Earl of Lincoln, and Susan Clinton (née Penninston), Clinton joined the

in 1708 during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

. Clinton enjoyed the patronage of

, who was his sister-in-law's brother, and, having been promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 16 June 1716, he was given command of the fifth-rate .Heathcote, p. 44. He transferred to the command of the fourth-rate in 1720 and served in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

under Admiral Sir John Norris: the ship was lost during the return journey to England, but Clinton was acquitted at the subsequent

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

. He was given command of the fourth-rate in 1721 and sailed to the Baltic Sea to carry out patrols before returning home again in 1722. After four years of inactivity, Clinton was given command of the fourth-rate in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

in 1726 and saw action escorting merchant shipping, attacking Spanish batteries and blockading the Spanish coast before transferred to the command of the fourth-rate in July 1727.Heathcote, p. 45. In 1732, Clinton was appointed commodore of a squadron of ships which was despatched to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

where he also became governor of the colony. In that role he supervised the newly appointed local

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

s and protected the local fishing industry. Clinton took command of the second-rate as flag captain to Admiral Sir Charles Wager in June 1732 and then transferred to the command of the third-rate in the Channel Fleet in 1734. He went on to be Commodore and Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1736 but, with the

War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear was fought by Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and History of Spain (1700–1808), Spain between 1739 and 1748. The majority of the fighting took place in Viceroyalty of New Granada, New Granada and the Caribbean ...

looming, he stepped down to take command of the third-rate in 1739 and of the second-rate in 1740 during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

Governor of New York

Heavily in debt, Clinton lobbied the Duke of Newcastle for profitable employment as an American governor: he was appointed Governor of the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

in July 1741 and arrived in New York in September 1743 to take up his position. Promoted to

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 10 December 1743 and vice-admiral on 23 June 1744, he sought to protect New York's northern border from attack by the French: however liberal members of the New York assembly resisted his proposals as they wanted to maintain trade links with the French and with the Native Americans who were under French influence. James De Lancey, who had initially been his main adviser, turned against him and sought to block the governor's salary. Clinton therefore invited Sir William Johnson to take over responsibility for Native American affairs in 1746 and appointed Cadwallader Colden to be his advisor. Clinton was promoted to full

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

on 15 July 1747. Working with the Mohawk chief Hendrick Theyanoguin, Johnson was able to recruit Mohawk warriors to fight on the side of the British in 1747 during King George's War. After continuing disputes with the assembly over military expenditure and payment of the governor's salary, Clinton resigned as governor in October 1753.

Later career

Clinton was elected member of parliament for Saltash, a

, in May 1754. Promoted to Admiral of the Fleet in March 1757, he died on 10 July 1761.

Family

Clinton married the heiress, Anne Carle on 19 December 1727, at St James, Westminster, London:''The Register of Marriages in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1723-1754''. 19 December 1727. their children included General Sir Henry Clinton, who became a British commander in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, and Lucy Mary Clinton, who married Admiral Robert Roddam. Clinton was "a distant relative" of Charles Clinton, patriarch of a line of Clintons later prominent in New York. George Clinton, as Governor of the

, politically patronized Charles Clinton and Charles Clinton's eponymous son George Clinton, who would later become the first Governor of the State of New York and Vice President of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Another son of Charles Clinton was

James Clinton Major general (United States), Major-General James Clinton (August 9, 1736 – September 22, 1812) was a Continental Army officer and politician who fought in the American Revolutionary War. During the war he, along with John Sullivan (ge ...

; both James and George served as Revolutionary War generals under

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

opposite their distant cousin Sir Henry Clinton.

References

Sources

* *

External links

George Clinton papers
William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan.
George Clinton
Three decks , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, George 1680s births 1761 deaths Younger sons of earls Governors of Newfoundland Colony Royal Navy admirals of the fleet Governors of the Province of New York Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1754–1761 George Military personnel from Lincolnshire Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession