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{{short description|Canadian politician}}

{{for|the clergyman who became Dean of Exeter|Alured Clarke (priest)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]]
| name =Sir Alured Clarke
| honorific-suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCB}}
| image =Field Marshal Sir Alured Clarke.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date =24 November 1744
| death_date =16 September 1832 (aged 87)
| birth_place =
| death_place =[[Llangollen]], [[Wales]]
|office = Acting [[Governor-General of India|Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William]]
|term_start = 1797
|term_end = 1798
|monarch = [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]]
|predecessor = [[John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth|Sir John Shore]]
|successor = [[Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley|The Earl of Mornington]]
| allegiance ={{flag|United Kingdom}}
| branch ={{army|United Kingdom}}
| serviceyears =1759–1802
| rank =[[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]]
| unit =
| commands =[[Madras Army]]<br>[[Commander-in-Chief, India|Commander-in-Chief of India]]
| battles =[[American Revolutionary War]]<br>[[Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]]
| awards =[[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
| relations =
}}
[[File:Salle Assemblee nationale Quebec.jpg|thumb|right|230px|The National Assembly of Quebec, formerly the Parliament of Lower Canada, first convened by Sir Alured Clarke in December 1792 (the painting in the background depicts one of the first sittings of the Parliament of Lower Canada in January 1793)]]
'''Sir Alured Clarke''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|GCB}} (24 November 1744 – 16 September 1832) was a [[British Army]] officer. He took charge of all British troops in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] in May 1780 and was then deployed to [[Philadelphia]] to supervise the evacuation of British [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] at the closing stages of the [[American Revolutionary War]]. He went on to be [[List of Governors of Jamaica|Governor of Jamaica]] and then [[List of lieutenant governors of Quebec|lieutenant-governor of Lower Canada]] in which role he had responsibility for implementing the [[Constitutional Act 1791]]. He was then sent to India where he became Commander-in-Chief of the [[Madras Army]], then briefly [[Governor-General of India]] and finally [[Commander-in-Chief, India|Commander-in-Chief of India]] during the [[Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]].

==Military career==
Born the son of [[Charles Clarke (judge)|Charles Clarke]] (c.1702–1750) and Jane Clarke (née Mullins),<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB|id=5485|title=Clarke, Alured|first=Robert|last=Brown}}</ref> Alured Clarke was educated at [[Eton College]] and was commissioned as an [[ensign (rank)|ensign]] in the [[50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot|50th Regiment of Foot]] on 20 March 1759.<ref name=heath89>Heathcote, p. 89</ref> Later that year he served in Germany under the [[John Manners, Marquess of Granby|Marquess of Granby]].<ref name=odnb/> Promoted to [[lieutenant]] in the 50th Regiment of Foot on 10 May 1760 and to [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] in the [[52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot|52nd Regiment of Foot]] on 30 December 1763, he transferred to the [[Royal Northumberland Fusiliers|5th Regiment of Foot]], stationed in Ireland, in January 1767 and was then promoted to [[major]] in the [[54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot|54th Regiment of Foot]] in 1771.<ref name=heath89/>

Promoted to [[lieutenant-colonel]] and given the command of the [[Royal Fusiliers|7th Regiment of Foot]], serving in America, on 13 May 1777,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=11770|page=2|date=13 May 1777}}</ref> Clarke took charge of all British troops in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] in May 1780 and, having been promoted to [[colonel]] on 16 May 1782, he was then deployed to [[Philadelphia]] to supervise the evacuation of British [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] in May 1783.<ref name=odnb/>

Clarke became [[List of Governors of Jamaica|Governor of Jamaica]] in summer 1784.<ref name=heath89/> Promoted to [[major-general]] on 1 May 1790,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=13196|page=258|date=27 April 1790}}</ref> he acquitted himself well enough as Governor of Jamaica that he was recommended to [[George III of the United Kingdom|King George III]] as a suitable person to become [[List of lieutenant governors of Quebec|lieutenant-governor of Lower Canada]] in October 1790.<ref name=cdb>{{Cite DCB|2804}}</ref> In the absence of the [[List of Governors General of Canada|governor]], who had departed for England in August 1791, he took command of British forces and set about implementing the [[Constitutional Act 1791]] which involved settling geographical boundaries (between [[Lower Canada]] and the United States and between Lower Canada and the rest of Canada), offering land to settlers and convening the first [[National Assembly of Quebec|legislature of the Province]].<ref name=cdb/> Clarke served as lieutenant-governor of Lower Canada until Summer 1793, when the Governor returned to Canada and Clarke could return to England.<ref name=heath89/>

Clarke was sent to India in 1795 with instructions to interrupt his voyage at the [[Cape of Good Hope]] where he and his force defeated a Dutch army at [[Wynberg, Cape Town|Wynberg]] on 16 September 1795 and then spent the next two months on arranging administrative matters before proceeding to India.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15434|page=1465|date=8 December 1801}}</ref> On arrival in India in early 1796 he became Commander-in-Chief of the [[Madras Army]]. He was promoted to the local rank of [[lieutenant-general]] on 3 May 1796 and, having been appointed a [[Order of the Bath|Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath]] on 14 January 1797, he was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant-general on 4 February 1797.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=13976|page=106|date=31 January 1797}}</ref> He became acting [[Governor-General of India]] in March 1798 (in which capacity he also served as acting Commander-in-Chief of the [[Bengal Army]]) and then became [[Commander-in-Chief, India]] in May 1798.<ref name=heath89/> Although Clarke was not present at the [[Siege of Seringapatam (1799)|Siege of Seringapatam]] in April 1799, his army was victorious thereby successfully concluding the [[Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]].<ref name=odnb/> He returned to England in March 1801 and was promoted to full [[general]] on 11 May 1802.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15478|page=466|date=8 May 1802}}</ref> Following a re-organisation of the order, he was advanced to [[Order of the Bath|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] on 4 January 1815.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16972|page=18|date=4 January 1815}}</ref>

In 1803 he appeared, alongside [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Vice-Admiral Nelson]] and [[Evan Nepean|Sir Evan Nepean]], as a character witness in the treason trial of Colonel [[Edward Despard]]. Together they testified to Despard's service in the Caribbean.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gurney|first1=William Brodie|title=The Trial of Edward Marcus Despard, Esquire: For High Treason, at the Session House, Newington, Surrey, On Monday the Seventh of February, 1803|last2=Gurney|first2=Joseph|publisher=M Gurney|year=1803|location=London|page=176}}</ref><ref name="Jay">{{cite book|last1=Jay|first1=Mike|title=The Unfortunate Colonel Despard|publisher=Bantam Press|year=2004|isbn=0593051955|location=London|page=197}}</ref>

Clarke also served as honorary colonel of 1st Battalion [[King's Royal Rifle Corps|60th Royal American Regiment]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=13324|page=399|date=9 July 1791}}</ref> of the [[68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)|68th Regiment of Foot]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=13693|page=828|date=12 August 1794}}</ref> of the [[Royal Northumberland Fusiliers|5th Regiment of Foot]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=13718|page=1076|date=28 October 1794}}</ref> and then of the [[Royal Fusiliers|7th Regiment of Foot]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15400|page=1035|date=22 August 1801}}</ref>

In retirement, Clarke lived at [[Mansfield Street, London|Mansfield Street]] in London.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sir Alured Clarke manuscript material : 1 item, 1819|oclc = 608094147}}</ref> He was promoted to [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|field marshal]] on the occasion of the coronation of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|King William IV]] on 22 July 1830.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=18709|page=1534|date=23 July 1830}}</ref> He died at [[Llangollen]] in Wales on 16 September 1832 while visiting his niece.<ref name=heath90>Heathcote, p. 90</ref>

==Family==
Clarke married [[Kitty Hunter|Elizabeth Catherine Hunter]] in 1770,<ref name=odnb/> who eight years earlier had eloped with the married [[Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke|Earl of Pembroke]].<ref name=odnb/> Kitty had a son by Pembroke, and received a pension from him until 1790, but Clarke and she had no children.<ref name=odnb/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last=Heathcote|first=Tony|title=The British Field Marshals, 1736–1997: A Biographical Dictionary |publisher= Leo Cooper|location=Barnsley|year= 1999|isbn= 0-85052-696-5}}

==Further reading==
* {{QuebecMLCbio|clarke-alured-111}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box
| before=[[Archibald Campbell (British Army officer)|Archibald Campbell]]
| title=[[Governor of Jamaica]] | years=1784–1790
| after=[[Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham|The Earl of Effingham]]
}}
|-
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Thomas Dundas (British Army officer)|Thomas Dundas]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=Colonel of the [[68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)|68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot]] | years=1794}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Charles Stuart (1753–1801)|Charles Stuart]]}}
|-
{{succession box | before=[[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn]] | title=Colonel of the [[Royal Fusiliers|7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fuzileers)]] | years=1801–1832 | after=[[Edward Blakeney|Sir Edward Blakeney]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Sir John Braithwaite, 1st Baronet|John Braithwaite]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Madras Army|C-in-C, Madras Army]]|years=1796–1797}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George Harris, 1st Baron Harris|George Harris]]}}
|-
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box | before=[[John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth|Sir John Shore]] | title=[[Governor-General of India]], ''acting'' | years=1798 | after=[[Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley|The Earl of Mornington]]}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box | title=[[Commander-in-Chief, India]] | before=[[Charles Morgan (British Army officer)|Charles Morgan]] | after=[[James Henry Craig|Sir James Craig]] | years=1798–1801}}
{{s-end}}

{{Viceroys of India}}
{{Commander-in-Chief, India}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Alured}}
[[Category:1745 births]]
[[Category:1832 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:British expatriates in Germany]]
[[Category:Alumni of New College, Oxford]]
[[Category:British field marshals]]
[[Category:British Commanders-in-Chief of India]]
[[Category:Governors-General of India]]
[[Category:British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Lieutenant Governors of the Province of Quebec (1763–1791)]]
[[Category:Governors of Jamaica]]
[[Category:52nd Regiment of Foot officers]]
[[Category:54th Regiment of Foot officers]]
[[Category:68th Regiment of Foot officers]]

Alured Clarke - Revision history

Bot at 04:29, 15 December 2022