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James Clinton (August 9,1733 – September 22 1812) was a American Revolutionary War soldier who obtained the rank of Major General.
He was born in Ulster County in the colony of New York — in a location now part of Orange County, New York. He was the brother of George Clinton, who was governor of New York from 1777 to 1795 and U.S. Vice President from 1805 to 1812. James Clinton was also the father of DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York and presidential candidate,
James Clinton served in the New York militia during the French and Indian War. In 1758 he participated (along with his father Lt. Colonel Charles Clinton) in Lt. Col. John Bradstreets capture of Fort Frontenac (now Kingston, Ontario).
The Revolution
During the American Revolution, he commanded a New York regiment, which took part in Brig. Gen. Richard Montgomerys unsuccessful expedition to Quebec in 1775.
In March of 1776, Clinton was commisioned as a colonel in the Second New York Regiment and was promoted to brigadier general in the Continental Army in August of that same year.
He served most of the war in the Northern Department, along the New York frontier. During the Saratoga Campaign in 1777, he commanded Fort Montgomery in the Hudson Highlands. He participated in a successful effort to prevent British General Sir Henry Clinton from rescuing General John Burgoyne at Saratoga, but he and his troops were unable to hold Forts Clinton and Montgomery.
In 1779 Clinton led an expedition down the Susquehanna River. His route is described (with suspect accuracy) by James Fenimore Cooper in the introduction to his popular novel The Pioneers. Clinton met up with General John Sullivan's forces who had marched from Easton, Pennsylvania. Together on August 29, they defeated the Loyalists and Indians at Newtown (near today's city of Elmira, New York). This became known as the "Sullivan-Clinton Campaign" or "Sullivan Expedition."
In 1780, Clinton temporarily commanded the Northern Department.
By October 1781, his brigade had joined Washington's army in the siege of Yorktown.
After the war, as a civilian, he served on the commission defining the New York-Pennsylvania boundary and as a delegate to the New York state convention which approved the U.S. Constitution.
Clinton died in Little Britain, New York, on December 22, 1812, the same year as his brother George.
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