Duncan Lamont Clinch was an American army officer and served as a commander during the First and Second Seminole War

Second Seminole War

The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States, part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars...

s. He also served in the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, representing Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

.

Born in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, Clinch was a career soldier serving primarily on frontier posts when the First Seminole War broke out in 1816. While commanding forces in southern Georgia, Colonel Clinch was ordered by General Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

 to attack Seminole positions at Negro Fort, an abandoned British fort along the Apalachicola River

Apalachicola River

The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 112 mi long in the State of Florida. This river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin for short, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its farthest headstream in northeast Georgia is approximately 500...

 which had become a safe haven for escaped slaves, and 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. Clinch would also see service during the Second Seminole War serving with Major Francis L. Dade

Francis L. Dade

Francis Langhorne Dade was a Major in the U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment, United States Army, during the Second Seminole War. Dade was killed in a battle with Seminole Indians that came to be known as the "Dade Massacre"...

 before his death in 1849 in Macon, Georgia

Macon, Georgia

Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...

.

Honors

Clinch County, Georgia

Clinch County, Georgia

Clinch County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on February 14, 1850, named in honor of Duncan Lamont Clinch. As of 2000, the population is 6,878. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 6,992...

 was named for Clinch.

Fort Clinch (and Fort Clinch State Park

Fort Clinch State Park

The Fort Clinch State Park is a Florida State Park, located on a peninsula near the northernmost point of Amelia Island, along the Amelia River. Its include the 19th century Fort Clinch, sand dunes, plains, maritime hammock and estuarine tidal marsh...

) on Amelia Island

Amelia Island

Amelia Island is one of the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands that stretches along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. It is long and approximately 4 miles wide at its widest point. Amelia Island is situated off the coast in Nassau County,...

, Florida is named after General Duncan Lamont Clinch. The Fort is at 2601 Atlantic Avenue, Fernandina Beach, Florida 32034.

Family

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

Battle of Olustee

The Battle of Olustee or Battle of Ocean Pond was fought in Baker County, Florida on 20 February 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the largest battle fought in Florida during the war.-Background:In February 1864, Major General Quincy A...

 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.

Further reading

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