William Clark (explorer) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search William Clark William

Clark (explorer) Governor of issouri !erritory "n office #$#%&#$'( )receded *y +en,amin -o.ard /ucceeded *y 0lexander c1air +orn 0ugust #, #22( 3irginia 4ied /eptem*er #, #$%$ (aged 5$) /t6 7ouis, issouri /pouse Julia -ancock -arriet 8ennerly 9adford 9elations George 9ogers Clark :ccupation /oldier, explorer, government official For other persons named William Clark, see William Clark (disam*iguation)6 William Clark (0ugust #, #22( ; /eptem*er #, #$%$) .as an 0merican explorer, soldier, "ndian agent, and territorial governor6 0 native of 3irginia, he .ould also gro. up in pre&statehood 8entucky *efore later settling in .hat later *ecame the state of issouri6 0long .ith eri.ether 7e.is, Clark led the 7e.is and Clark <xpedition of #$(% to #$(= across the 7ouisiana )urchase to the )acific :cean6 +efore the expedition he served in a militia and the >nited /tates 0rmy, .hile after.ards he served in a militia and as governor of the issouri !erritory6 From #$'' until his death he held the position of /uperintendent of "ndian 0ffairs6 Contents ?hide@ A # <arly life A ' ilitary career *egins A % 7e.is and Clark <xpedition A B "ndian affairs and .ar A = Courtship and marriage A 5 7egacy A 2 9eferences A $ General references A C <xternal links ?edit@ <arly life William Clark .as *orn in Caroline County, 3irginia, on 0ugust #, #22(, the ninth of the ten children of John and 0nn 9ogers Clark6?#@ -is parents .ere natives of 8ing and Dueen County, and .ere of <nglish and possi*ly /cottish ancestry6?'@ !he Clarks .ere of the lesser 3irginia gentry, o.ners of modest estates and a fe. slaves,?%@ and mem*ers of the 0nglican Church6Clark did not have any formal education, *ut like many of his contemporaries he .as tutored at home6 "n later years, he .as some.hat self&conscious a*out his convoluted grammar and inconsistent spellingEhe spelled F/iouxF t.enty&seven different .ays in his ,ournals of the 7e.is and Clark <xpeditionEand sought to have his ,ournals corrected *efore pu*lication6?B@ +ut the spelling of 0merican <nglish .as not standardiGed in ClarkHs youth, and his voca*ulary suggests that he .as .ell read6?=@ClarkHs five older *rothers fought in 3irginia units during the 0merican 9evolutionary War (#22=;#2$%), *ut William .as too young to go off to *attle6?'@ -is second&oldest *rother, George 9ogers Clark, rose to the rank of general, spending most of the .ar in 8entucky fighting against +ritish&allied 0merican "ndians6 0fter the .ar, George 9ogers Clark and Jonathan Clark, the oldest Clark *rother, made arrangements for their parents to relocate to 8entucky6 William, his parents, his three sisters, and the Clark familyHs slaves arrived in 8entucky in arch #2$=, having traveled overland to 9edstone 7anding *efore completing the ,ourney do.n the :hio 9iver *y flat*oat6 !he Clark family settled at F ul*erry -illF, a plantation along +eargrass Creek near 7ouisville6 !his .ould *e William ClarkHs primary home until #$(%6 "n 8entucky, George 9ogers Clark taught William .ilderness survival skills6?5@

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ilitary career *egins

0lthough the 9evolutionary War .as over, 8entuckians continued to fight an undeclared .ar .ith 0merican "ndians north of the :hio 9iver6 "n #2$C, nineteen year&old William Clark *egan his military career *y ,oining a volunteer militia force under a,or John -ardin6?2@ Clark kept a detailed ,ournal of the expedition, the *eginning of a lifelong practice6 !he targets of -ardinHs expedition .ere Wea "ndians on the Wa*ash 9iver .ho had *een raiding settlements in 8entucky6 >nfortunately, the undisciplined 8entucky militia instead attacked a peaceful /ha.nee hunting camp, killing eight men, .omen, and children6?$@ "n #2C(, Clark .as commissioned *y General 0rthur /t6 Clair, governor of the 1orth.est !erritory, as a captain in the Clarksville militia6 !he exact nature of his services that year are unclearI one older source says that he .as sent on a mission to the Creek and Cherokee "ndians6?C@ -e may have visited 1e. :rleans at that time6 -is travels prevented him from participating in General Josiah -armarHs disastrous campaign into the 1orth.est !erritory that year6?#(@ "n #2C#, he served as an ensign and acting lieutenant .ith expeditions under Generals Charles /cott and James Wilkinson6?##@ Clark enlisted in the 7egion of the >nited /tates and .as commissioned as a 7ieutenant on arch 2, #2C' under 0nthony Wayne6 :n /eptem*er B, #2C' he .as assigned to the Bth /u*&7egion6 -e .as involved in several skirmishes .ith "ndians, and .as thanked *y General Wayne for his good conduct during the campaign6?#'@ -e distinguished himself at the +attle of Fallen !im*ers in #2CB *y commanding of a company of riflemen .hich drove *ack the enemy on the left flank, killing a num*er of "ndians and Canadians6 "n #2C=, he .as dispatched on a mission to 1e. adrid6 Clark also served as an ad,utant and Juartermaster .hile in the militia6?##@ ?edit@ 7e.is and Clark <xpedition ain article: 7e.is and Clark <xpedition William Clark resigned his commission on July #, #2C5 and retired due to poor health,?##@ returning to ul*erry -ill, his family plantation near 7ouisville6 )rior to his resignation, eri.ether 7e.is .as assigned to ClarkHs unit as an ensign under ClarkHs command6?##@ "n #$(%, Clark .as asked *y 7e.is to share command of the ne.ly&formed Corps of 4iscovery6 Clark spent three years on the expedition, and although technically su*ordinate to 7e.is in rank, he exercised eJual authority at 7e.isHs insistence6 -e concentrated chiefly on the dra.ing of maps, the management of the expeditionHs supplies, and leading hunting6 ?edit@ "ndian affairs and .ar Clark .as appointed *y )resident Jefferson as the *rigadier general of the militia in the 7ouisiana !erritory in #$(2, .hich made him the agent for "ndian affairs6?##@ -e set up his headJuarters in /t6 7ouis, issouri6 4uring the War of #$#', he led several campaigns, among them in #$#B one along the ississippi 9iver, up to the )rairie du Chien&area, .here he esta*lished short lived Fort /hel*y, the first post in .hat is no. Wisconsin6 /oon the post .as captured *y the +ritish6 When the issouri !erritory .as formed in #$#%, Clark .as appointed as the Governor *y )resident adison6?##@ -e .as re&appointed to the position *y adison in #$#5, and in #$'( *y )resident onroe6?##@ When issouri *ecame a state in #$'(, Clark .as defeated in the election for governor *y 0lexander c1air6 "n #$'', he .as appointed /uperintendent of "ndian 0ffairs *y )resident onroe, a ne. position created *y Congress after the factory system .as a*olished6?##@ Clark remained in that capacity until his death, his title changed .ith the creation of the :ffice of "ndian 0ffairs in #$'B and finally the +ureau of "ndian 0ffairs in #$'C, *oth .ithin the War 4epartment6?#%@ From #$'B to #$'=, he .as additionally appointed surveyor general of "llinois, issouri and the !erritory of 0rkansa.6 ?edit@ Courtship and marriage Clark married Julia -ancock on January =, #$($, at Fincastle, 3irginia, and they had five children:?##@ eri.ether 7e.is Clark, /r6 (#$(C&#$$#) named after his friend eri.ether 7e.isI William )reston Clark (#$##&#$B()I ary argaret Clark (#$#B&#$'#)I George 9ogers -ancock Clark (#$#5&#$=$),

named after ClarkHs older *rotherI and John Julius Clark (#$#$&#$%#)6 0fter JuliaHs death in #$'(, Wm6 Clark married her first cousin -arriet 8ennerly 9adford, and they had three children: Jefferson 8earny Clark (#$'B&#C(()I <dmund Clark (#$'5&#$'2)I and -arriet Clark (dates unkno.nI died as child)6 -is second .ife died in #$%#6 Clark died in /t6 7ouis on /eptem*er #, #$%$, and he .as *uried in the +ellefontaine Cemetery, .here a %=&foot (#(65 m) gray granite o*elisk .as erected to mark his grave6 ?edit@ 7egacy 0lthough his family had esta*lished endo.ments to maintain his grave site, *y the late '(th century the grave site had fallen into disrepair6 -is descendants raised K#((,((( to reha*ilitate the o*elisk and cele*rated the re&dedication .ith a ceremony ay '#, '((B, on the *icentennial of the start of his famous expedition6 !he ceremony .as attended *y a large gathering of his descendants, reenactors in period dress, and leaders from the :sage 1ation, and the 7emhi *and of the /hoshone 1ative 0merican people6 Clark .as a mem*er of the Freemasons6 !he records of his initiation do not exist, *ut on /eptem*er #$, #$(C, /aint 7ouis 7odge 1o6 ### issued a traveling certificate for Clark6?#B@ :n January #2, '((# )resident +ill Clinton posthumously increased ClarkHs >/ 0rmy rank to Captain6 4escendants of Clark .ere there to mark the occasion6?#=@ !he .estern 0merican plant genus Clarkia (in the <vening primrose family :nagraceae), is named after him, as are the Western cutthroat trout (:ncorhynchus clarki), ClarkHs Gre*e (0echmophorus clarkii), and ClarkHs 1utcracker (1ucifraga colum*iana), a large passerine *ird, in the family Corvidae6 /everal states have named counties in his honor: Clark County, 0rkansas, Clark County, "daho, Clark County, issouri, 7e.is and Clark County, ontana, and Clark County, Washington6 -e also has a star emplaced on the /t6 7ouis Walk of Fame6 !he Clarks 9iver in .estern 8entucky is also named for him6 !he >/ 1avy )olaris nuclear su*marine >// 7e.is and Clark .as named for him and 7e.is6 ?edit@ 9eferences #6 L Foley, Wilderness Journey, ';%6 '6 L a * Foley, Wilderness Journey, '6 %6 L Foley, Wilderness Journey, #6 B6 L Foley, Wilderness Journey, #$6 =6 L Foley, Wilderness Journey, #C6 56 L Foley, Wilderness Journey, #%;#26 26 L Foley, Wilderness Journey, '%6 $6 L )aul 4avid 1elson6 F-ardin, JohnFI 0merican 1ational +iography :nline Fe*6 '(((I Wiley /.ord, )resident WashingtonHs "ndian War (>niversity of :klahoma )ress, #C$=), 226 Foley, Wilderness Journey, 'B;'=, mentions the attack on the camp and the casualties, *ut does not identify the "ndians as peaceful or as /ha.nees6 C6 L "ndiana -istorical +ureau #(6 L Foley, Wilderness Journey, '=;'56 ##6 L a * c d e f g h i Corning, -o.ard 6 (#C$C) 4ictionary of :regon -istory6 +infords M ort )u*lishing6 p6 ==6 #'6 L "ndiana -istorical +ureau #%6 L +uckley, Jay -6 William Clark: "ndian 4iplomat6 1orman: >niversity of :klahoma )ress, '(($6 #B6 L 7i*ert, 7aura6 F+rothers 7e.is and ClarkF6 !reasures of the !emple6 9etrieved on '(($&(2&#56 #=6 L FClinton akes William Clark a Captain )osthumouslyF6 7e.is and Clark !rail -eritage Foundation: :hio 9iver Chapter (January #2, '((#)6 9etrieved on '(($&(2&#56 eri.ether