CLINTON 



1433 



CLINTON 



DEWITT CLINTON 



nected with the Erie Canal, for he faithfully 

 devoted the best years of his life to the promo- 

 tion of that work. He was born in Little 

 Britain, N. Y., 

 and completed his 

 education with 

 honors at Colum- 

 bia College. He 

 was admitted to 

 the bar in 1788, 

 but his earnest 

 ambition soon 

 carried him into 

 politics, first to 



the assembly, UWJE^^/'"'/ W W '/ 

 then, in 1798, to 

 the New York 

 state senate, and 

 in 1801 to the United States Senate. In 1803 

 he was elected mayor of New York, an office 

 which he held for twelve years, excepting two 

 short intervals. During that period he was 

 again a member of the senate of New York, 

 and was lieutenant-governor of the state for 

 two years. In 1812 he was defeated by Mad- 

 ison for President of the United States, but in 

 1817 was chosen governor of New York state, 

 and to this position he was reflected three 

 times. All his life he worked in the interest 

 of a waterway which should connect the Great 

 Lakes with the Atlantic seaboard. During 

 his third term, in the autumn of 1825, he was 

 triumphantly carried on a barge from Buffalo 

 to New York along the canal which his untiring 

 effort had made a reality. The story of this 

 effort and its results is told under the title 

 ERIE CANAL. 



CLINTON, GEORGE (1739-1812), an energetic 

 soldier and statesman, born at Little Britain, 

 N. Y. He served prominently in the Revolu- 

 tionary War and was of great service to the 

 colonial cause through his influence with the 

 Indians. Because he was a very popular patriot 

 he was elected to the New York assembly; fn 

 1775 he was sent as a delegate to the Conti- 

 nental Congress. In 1777 he was appointed 

 a brigadier-general in the Continental army, 

 and later in that year was made first governor 

 of the state of New York, serving in this posi- 

 tion for eighteen years with exceptional ability 

 and discretion. He opposed the Federal Con- 

 stitution on account of its centralization of 

 power, and advocated improvement of internal 

 communication by navigation companies. In 

 1804 he was elected Vice-President of the 

 United States, an office which he held until 



his death, serving with both Jefferson and 

 Madison. In 1811 it was his vote which de- 

 feated the rechartering of the United States 

 Bank. De Witt Clinton (which see) was his 

 nephew. 



CLINTON, SIR HENRY (about 1738-1795), a 

 British general who saw active service in the 

 American Revolution, beginning at the Battle 

 of Bunker Hill, where he fought as major-gen- 

 eral. After Washington's defeat in the Battle 

 of Long Island in 1776, Clinton took possession 

 of New York, and as a reward for his share in 

 the American defeat was knighted and raised 

 to the rank of lieutenant-general. In 1778 he 

 was placed in chief command of the British 

 forces in America, with his headquarters at 

 Philadelphia. When he heard of Burgoyne's 

 surrender and the news of the French alliance 

 with the American cause, he evacuated Phila- 

 delphia and began a retreat through New Jer- 

 sey. Washington hurried after him, and the 

 two armies fought a battle at Monmouth 

 Courthouse in June, 1778, in which the British 

 were defeated. 



Clinton then stationed his forces at New 

 York, where he remained until December, 1779. 

 At that time he led an expedition into South 

 Carolina, capturing Charleston in the following 

 spring. After his return to New York, he 

 planned to go to the aid of Cornwallis, but his 

 expedition started southward on the day the 

 latter surrendered. In 1782 the chief command 

 was given to Sir Guy Carleton, and Clinton 

 returned to England. Thereafter he served in 

 Parliament and as governor of Gibraltar. 



CLINTON, IOWA, the county seat of Clinton 

 County, in the easternmost section of the 

 state, on a wide curve of the Mississippi River. 

 Chicago is 138 miles east, Cedar Rapids is 

 ninety miles west, and Des Moines is 225 miles 

 west and south. By water, Dubuque is sixty 

 miles north and Davenport is forty miles south. 

 One railway and two wagon bridges connect 

 with East Clinton and Fulton, across the river. 

 The Chicago & North Western; the Chicago, 

 Milwaukee & Saint Paul ; the Chicago, Burling- 

 ton & Quincy, and the Chicago, Rock Island 

 & Pacific railways serve the city. Interurban 

 lines also connect with Davenport and other 

 adjacent cities. In 1910 the population, chiefly 

 American, was 25,577, which increased to 26,091 

 in 1915. The area is a little less than nine 

 and one-half square miles. 



Clinton is an attractive city with broad, 

 shaded streets, lying between the river and a 

 range of bluffs. Great efforts have been made 



