A Gallant Defense: The Siege of Charleston, 1780

Chapter Two: A “Very Essential Business” Begins

Chapter Two A “VERY ESSENTIAL BUSINESS” BEGINS From his headquarters in New York City, Sir Henry Clinton expressed particular interest in events in the southern provinces in 1779. Prevost and Campbell’s success in Georgia encouraged Clinton, but he realized that the British force was large enough only to hold Georgia and that Prevost’s ability to undertake further offensive operations in South Carolina was limited. The British would require a more substantial army to make inroads in the south. The proceedings also inspired Lord George Germain. He wrote Clinton that “the feeble resistance Major General Prevost met with in his march and retreat through so great a part of South Carolina is an indisputable proof of the indisposition of the inhabitants to support the rebel government.” Throughout 1778 and the first half of 1779, Germain continually pressed Clinton for a southern expedition, but Clinton vacillated. In Clinton’s assessment, such a movement depended on two factors. First, he would not act until his army was adequately reinforced. He believed there were too few troops in America to defend the British bases at New York and Newport, Rhode Island, along with all of Canada, and simultaneously carry out offensive operations. Second, he wished to obtain definite information of the whereabouts and situation of the French fleet. The prospect of being immersed in operations along the coast and having a superior French fleet swoop down upon him frightened Clinton. Given his awareness of the outcry in London over Burgoyne’s disastrous defeat, Clinton’s hesitation was understandable. Yet, even in the absence of such retrospection, an examination of Sir Henry’s character and personality demonstrates that the British commander would have proceeded with caution regardless of the circumstances.1 Henry Clinton was born into the aristocracy in 1730. His father, who rose to the rank of admiral in the Royal Navy, was the younger h A “Very Essential Business” Begins / 17 brother of the Earl of Lincoln. Ironically, Clinton spent several years of his boyhood in the American colonies. His father served in America from 1743 to 1751, and Admiral Clinton brought his family along with him to reside in New York. Following in the footsteps of his father, young Henry took up a military career but chose the army instead of the navy. He fought in Germany during the Seven Years’ War, where he was wounded in battle, receiving a wound that, like Benjamin Lincoln ’s, caused him difficulty throughout his life. Clinton ascended steadily through the ranks of the British army, obtaining the rank of lieutenant general shortly after the outbreak of war in 1775.2 An examination of Sir Henry’s conduct in the American Revolution sheds light on personality traits which help to define the man and the general. Clinton was a masterful planner, but he was often contentious in making his point about those plans to fellow officers. Quarrelsome to a fault, throughout his service in America he constantly feuded with both superior and subordinate officers. Still, Clinton’s most overarching characteristic was his caution. As William Willcox explains, he “was obsessed by the need for avoiding a repulse.” In the fall of 1777, Clinton attempted to assist Burgoyne when the latter’s drive toward Albany faltered, but it was here that Clinton’s caution was most overtly displayed. Anxious about leaving New York City weakly defended and uncertain whether his orders permitted a move up the Hudson, Clinton limited the scope of the operation to support Burgoyne. He escaped blame in the fiasco that followed, and his role in the affair did not prevent his appointment as commander in chief of British land forces in America in April 1778.3 When Clinton succeeded William Howe as commander in chief, he suffered the misfortune of doing so when the nature of the war on the North American continent was changing. With the American theater now a backwater in the larger global conflict with France, Clinton could not operate offensively as had Howe and Burgoyne. The British ministry not only provided him with fewer troops than General Howe, but they also from time to time ordered him to send reinforcements to other vulnerable posts such as the West Indies, Canada, or the Floridas . To undertake the type of expedition in the southern colonies that Lord Germain appealed for meant stretching all available resources.4 18 / A GALLANT DEFENSE The...