US Army General. He emigrated at age 20 and settled in Bath, New York. He became an attorney and served in the New York Assembly and as Sheriff, Surrogate Judge and County Judge. McClure was also involved in several businesses, including a gristmill and a ferry on Crooked Lake (now called Keuka Lake). Experienced in the militia, in the War of 1812 he commanded troops under federal authority as a Brigadier General. In December, 1813, garrisoning Ft. George and Newark (now Niagara), Canada with fewer than 100 men while American troops in New York moved east and prepared to attack Montreal, McClure responded to a planned British attack by burning the town and retreating to the US side of the Niagara River. After the British reclaimed Newark and Ft. George, they retaliated by burning Buffalo and five other New York towns. McClure claimed he acted under the Secretary of War's orders and cited instances where the British had committed similar acts, but his superiors disavowed his action and he never again held a command. Along with the US military's looting of York (now Toronto), the burning of Newark was one reason cited by the British to justify their 1814 destruction of Washington, DC. In the late 1830s McClure relocated to Illinois and was one of the founders of the town of Elgin. Originally interred in the Old Cemetery on Channing Street, his remains and most others were moved to Bluff City Cemetery in the early 1900s to make way for a school expansion.
US Army General. He emigrated at age 20 and settled in Bath, New York. He became an attorney and served in the New York Assembly and as Sheriff, Surrogate Judge and County Judge. McClure was also involved in several businesses, including a gristmill and a ferry on Crooked Lake (now called Keuka Lake). Experienced in the militia, in the War of 1812 he commanded troops under federal authority as a Brigadier General. In December, 1813, garrisoning Ft. George and Newark (now Niagara), Canada with fewer than 100 men while American troops in New York moved east and prepared to attack Montreal, McClure responded to a planned British attack by burning the town and retreating to the US side of the Niagara River. After the British reclaimed Newark and Ft. George, they retaliated by burning Buffalo and five other New York towns. McClure claimed he acted under the Secretary of War's orders and cited instances where the British had committed similar acts, but his superiors disavowed his action and he never again held a command. Along with the US military's looting of York (now Toronto), the burning of Newark was one reason cited by the British to justify their 1814 destruction of Washington, DC. In the late 1830s McClure relocated to Illinois and was one of the founders of the town of Elgin. Originally interred in the Old Cemetery on Channing Street, his remains and most others were moved to Bluff City Cemetery in the early 1900s to make way for a school expansion.
Bio by: Bill McKern
Family Members
Advertisement
See more McClure memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
