Richard Clinton (1720–January 22, 1795) was an officer in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, a member of the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

, a Register of Deeds for Duplin County and a prominent citizen of Sampson County.

Early life and career

Richard Clinton is thought to be the step-son of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

John Sampson (a member of the council for

Josiah Martin Josiah Martin (23 April 1737 – 13 April 1786) was a British Army officer and colonial official who served as the ninth and last governor of North Carolina from 1771 to 1776, and in exile until 1783. Early life and career Martin was born i ...

) who it is thought to have moved to the Wilmington, North Carolina area around 1736.

John Sampson may have married Clinton's mother sometime after 1741 when Clinton was born, but there are no historical records to indicate this. It is more likely that Richard is either the son of John Clinton and Elisobeth (1733) or of Thomas Clinton and Elinor (1720). Around 1762, Clinton's step-father John Sampson built a home on a

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

he purchased near the present day town of Clinton, North Carolina. At this point in history, this area was still a part of Duplin County; however residents had to go many miles east to the nearest courthouse. After the family's move into Duplin County, Richard Clinton became the Register of Deeds for the county from 1773-1883. Richard Clinton represented Duplin County in the Third North Carolina Provincial Congress in 1775. After the establishment of the Independent State Government of North Carolina by the Halifax Constitution in 1776, Richard Clinton became one of the earliest members of the North Carolina House of Commons. It was during his tenure in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

that Clinton was able to secure the passage of a bill that created Sampson County from the western portion of Duplin County. Richard Clinton proposed the name of "Sampson" for the new county in honor of his step-father. In 1784, this new act was passed by the

and the first courts were ordered to take place at the home of James Myland just west of the current town of Clinton, North Carolina.

Revolutionary War Service and actions

Just before the start of the Revolutionary War, Clinton's step-father John Sampson was a

in the Provincial North Carolina Army for Governor

William Tryon Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served durin ...

in support of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. A few short years later however in 1777, the Oath of Allegiance and Abjuration was passed by the

that required all state and some county Government officials to sign swearing their oath to support the newly independent

State of North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Richard Clinton did indeed sign this oath; however his step-father John Sampson did not, indicating that there may have been a conflict of interest of who the family would support: the

British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

, or the newly independent state. Richard Clinton was called upon by Duplin County to raise a

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

of men and was commissioned a Captain at first, then later a

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

in order to serve in support of the American forces. From 1776 to 1781, all was generally quite within the county, and the militia's primary job was to put down any

insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

among the local

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

population; a task he accomplished with his brother-in-law

Kenan. After

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best kn ...

marched his troops through the county in April 1781, much of the population was pestered by an emblazoned

population.

s Clinton and Kenan, marched their troops directly up to the forces of

in small

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

styled surprise attacks that left many

British Soldiers The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and prisoners taken by the Colonels dead. This "crackdown" on the

of the tories proved to be the pivotal event that prevented any further violence in the county.

Establishment of the Town of Clinton

Upon the creation of the new Sampson County, 5 acres of land was purchase by the county from Richard Clinton on which one acre was to be for the construction of the new Courthouse, and the other five acres to be sold as lots to pay for the construction of the new courthouse. This area came to be known as Clinton Courthouse on maps as early as 1790, and was to become the center of the future town of Clinton, North Carolina which was chartered in 1822.

Legacy

Richard Clinton died January 22, 1795, in what appears to have been a sudden and untimely death as he left no recorded will. His wife went on to use their home as a public ordinary for use by the various people coming and going from the county courthouse. Clinton had many children, all of whom became pillars in their respective communities. Many of his sons served as officers in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, and went on to other parts of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

to lead in their respective local governments. The town of Clinton, North Carolina was named in honor of this patriot of the county.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Richard People from Sampson County, North Carolina Members of the North Carolina General Assembly Continental Army officers from North Carolina 1720 births 1795 deaths People from Clinton, North Carolina Members of the North Carolina Provincial Congresses