Duncan Lamont Clinch

Duncan Lamont Clinch (April 6, 1787 – December 4, 1849[1]) was an American army officer who served as a commander during the First and Second Seminole Wars. He also served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Georgia. He led the attack in Negro Fort.

Duncan Lamont Clinch
General Duncan Lamont Clinch
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's at-large district
In office February 15, 1844 – March 3, 1845
Preceded by	John Millen
Succeeded by	District inactive
Personal details
Born	April 6, 1787 Ard-Lamont plantation, Edgecombe County, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	December 4, 1849 (aged 62) Milledgeville, Georgia, U.S.
Resting place	Bonaventure Cemetery
Political party	Whig
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch/service	United States
Years of service	1808–1836
Rank	Colonel Brevet Brigadier general
Unit	3rd Infantry Regiment
Commands	8th Infantry Regiment 4th Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	First Seminole War Second Seminole War

Early life

Clinch was born at "Ard-Lamont", a plantation in Edgecombe County, North Carolina on April 6, 1787. He was the son of Joseph John Clinch, Jr. (1754–1795), an American Revolution veteran of both the Continental Army and the North Carolina Militia (Edgecombe County Regiment) who attained the rank of colonel. Joseph Clinch also served in political office, including justice of the peace and member of the North Carolina House of Commons.[2]

Duncan Clinch was educated in the local schools and by private tutors. He joined the United States Army as a first lieutenant in 1808.

Military career

Clinch was initially assigned to the 3rd Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to captain in 1810, lieutenant colonel in 1813, colonel in 1819, and brigadier general in 1829.

He served primarily on frontier posts in what were then the southwestern United States. In 1816, he commanded forces in southern Georgia, and was ordered by General Andrew Jackson to attack Seminole positions at Negro Fort, an abandoned British post along the Apalachicola River which had become a safe haven for escaped slaves. He was ordered to recover runaway slaves in hiding at the fort.

Supported by gunboats, Clinch's attack on the outpost caused a major incident when an explosion, resulting from naval artillery hitting the fort's powder magazine, resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Seminoles and slaves, contributing to the beginning of the First Seminole War.

Second Seminole War

Clinch saw service during the Second Seminole War including the Battle of the Withlacoochee before resigning from the Army in 1836.

I had been taught when living at St. Augustine to regard General Clinch as a strict unfeeling disciplinarian but I learned how good men are often maligned. To me he was the reverse, for his bearing was most fatherly, always available to others and beaming with kindness. Picture the image of an old gray-haired man of 5 ft. 10 inches, of muscular build, weighing over 250 pounds, sitting upon the dirt floor, giving counsel and comfort to a poor dying private soldier. That was the true General Duncan L. Clinch, called by his contemporary officers The Spartan General. His ways were plain and simple, living in a tent like all the other soldiers, excepting he had a bed and mattress to sleep upon. His food was plain and many times I saw him dining with his staff on pork and beans, occasionally getting a beef day like the rest of us. Now and then he would have an extra dish of Indian Corn. He only drank water and many times I fetched a pitcher for him from the large round pond or spring outside the Camp. When we lived at the Driver's house, I lived with him, my medicine chest being close to his door. I was the first he saw on rising in the morning and the last at night and when we were in the field, my Hospital tent was immediately in front of the General's. So plain were his habits that he was no burden to the Army for even when on the move his only requisition was a campstool. Other Generals such as Scott required a band of music, with a company of professional cooks and servants in attendance.

– Steward John Bemrose Second Seminole War 1865.

He lived on a plantation near St. Mary's, Georgia. In an 1844 special election he was elected to Congress as a Whig, filling the vacancy caused by the death of John Millen. He served in the 28th Congress, February 15, 1844 to March 3, 1845, and did not run for reelection to a full term in 1844.

Clinch died in Milledgeville, Georgia on December 4, 1849, after a long struggle with erysipelas.[3] He was buried at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.[4]

Honors

Clinch County, Georgia was named for Clinch.[5] In the Civil War, the 5th Georgia Volunteer Infantry's first company was also named after him, as the regiment originated from Clinch County.[6]

Fort Clinch (and Fort Clinch State Park) on Amelia Island, Florida is named for Clinch. The Fort is at 2601 Atlantic Avenue, Fernandina Beach, Florida 32034.

Family

Duncan Lamont Clinch married three times, first to Elizabeth Houstoun,[7] then to Eliza Bayard McIntosh,[8] finally to Sophia Hume Clinch,[9] to whom he was married at the time of his death.[10]

His son, Colonel Duncan Lamont Clinch Jr., commanded the 4th Georgia Cavalry CSA during the American Civil War. This unit fought at the Battle of Olustee in Florida, and also in the Atlanta campaign later in 1864.

He was also the father-in-law of Robert Anderson (Civil War), commander of Fort Sumter.

Another son, Captain Nicholas Bayard Clinch (1832–1888), was commander of "Clinch's Light Battery", or as "Clinch's Artillery Company", a division of older brother Duncan's 4th Georgia Volunteer Cavalry CSA and an inventor.[11][12]

Archival material

In the Library of Florida History, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, there is a collection of General Duncan Lamont Clinch Family Papers, some of which have been digitized. It consists of correspondence of and newspaper clippings related to General Clinch.[13]

Notes

1. Transcript of obituary for General Duncan Lamont Clinch (appeared in the "Messenger," Macon, Georgia, December 5, 1849)
2. Rives, Ralph Hardee (1919). "John Joseph Clinch, Jr". NCPedia.org. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
3. Transcript of obituary for General Duncan Lamont Clinch (appeared in the "Messenger," Macon, Georgia, December 5, 1849)
4. Duncan Lamont Clinch at Find a Grave
5. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 85.
6. Katcher, Philip; Volstad, Ron (1989). Men-at-Arms Series 207 American Civil War Armies (5): Volunteer Militia. London: Osprey. p. 47. ISBN 0850458536.
7. A History and Genealogy of the Families of Bayard, Houstoun of Georgia, p.32
8. A History and Genealogy of the Families of Bayard, Houstoun of Georgia, p. 15
9. Estate of J.H.M Clinch
10. Last Will and Testament of Duncan L. Clinch, 1849
11. A Brief History of Captain N.B. Clinch’s Artillery Company
12. Two Wheeled Vehicle Patent Grant Nicholas Bayard Clinch
13. McCormick, J. Sean (2007). "Guide to the General Duncan Lamont Clinch Family Papers". George A. Smathers Library, University of Florida. Retrieved January 12, 2017.

References

• Keenan, Jerry. Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars, ABC-CLIO, Inc.: California, 1997.
• William J. Northen, Men of Mark in Georgia, A. B. Caldwell, 1912, pp. 313–314.

• United States Congress. "Duncan Lamont Clinch (id: C000520)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Further reading

• Covington, James W. The Seminoles of Florida, Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1993.