Samuel Cleaveland Explained

Samuel Cleaveland
Death Date:	1794 (aged ~67)
Allegiance:	Great Britain
Branch:	British Army Royal Artillery
Branch Label:	Service
Rank:	Lieutenant-general
Battles:	War of the Austrian Succession American Revolutionary War

Lieutenant-general Samuel Cleaveland (–1794) was an artillery officer in the British Army.

Military career

Samuel Cleaveland took command of the first Royal Artillery company in India in 1748, the previous commander having died of wounds.^[1] He led the company till 1762, and was made major after the British took Havana from the Spanish.^[2] Also in 1762, he was moved to the 4th Battalion of Royal Artillery, and served on and off in North America till 1777, when he sailed for England.

In 1781, Cleaveland was put in command of the 3rd Artillery Battalion in England. He ultimately received the rank of lieutenant-general.

Personal life

Cleaveland and his wife Mary had one known son, who fought with his father in North America during the Revolutionary War and was a prisoner of war at Philadelphia in 1776.

The Samuel and Mary Cleaveland letters (1772–1776) are housed in the Manuscripts Division, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan.

Sources

• Encyclopedia: 1993 . Cleaveland, Samuel (c. 1727–1794) . The American Revolution, 1775–1783: An Encyclopedia . Garland Publishing, Inc. . Zabecki . David T. . Blanco . Richard L. . New York & London . 1 . 325-326.
• Web site: Samuel and Mary Cleaveland letters (1772–1776) . 6 April 2023 . UM Clements Library . University of Michigan.

Further reading

• Brown, James Alex (1865). England's Artillerymen: An Historical Narrative of the Services of the Royal Artillery. London.
• Duncan, Francis (1872). History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Vol. 1. London: John Murray. pp. 124, 127, 301–303.
• Kane, John (1900). Askwith, William Harrison (ed.). List of Officers of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. 4th ed. London and Beccles: William Clowes and Sons, Limited. Royal Artillery Institution. pp. 220, 228.

Notes and References

1. Zebecki 1993, p. 325.
2. University of Michigan.