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Birth of William Clark
William Clark was born in Caroline County, Virginia, on August 1, 1770. -
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William Clark
William Clark was born in Caroline County, Virginia, on August 1, 1770 and died in St. Louis on September 1, 1838 at age 68. -
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American Revolutionary War
Clark's five older brothers fought in Virginia units during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), but William was too young.[6] His oldest brother, Jonathan Clark, served as a colonel during the war, rising to the rank of general in the Virginia militia years afterward. His second-oldest brother, George Rogers Clark, rose to the rank of general, spending most of the war in Kentucky fighting against British-allied American Indians. After the war, the two oldest Clark brothers made arrangeme -
William Clark traveling for the 1st time at 15 years of age
William, his parents, his three sisters, and the Clark family's slaves arrived in Kentucky in March 1785, having first traveled overland to Redstone Landing in present-day Brownsville, Pennsylvania. They completed the journey down the Ohio River by flatboat. The Clark family settled at "Mulberry Hill", a plantation along Beargrass Creek near Louisville. This was William Clark's primary home until 1803. In Kentucky, his older brother George Rogers Clark taught William wilderness survival skill -
Clark joins Militia
19-year-old William Clark joined a volunteer militia force under Major John Hardin -
William Clark resigned his commission
William Clark resigned his commission on July 4, 1796 and retired due to poor health, although he was only 26 years old. -
Lewis Clark Expedition Start
Lewis & Clark ExpeditionIn 1803 Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's Corps of Discovery to find a water route to the Pacific and explore the uncharted West. He believed woolly mammoths, erupting volcanoes, and a mountain of pure salt awaited them. -
Lewis & Clark Expedition ends
On the morning of September 23, the Corps of Discovery entered the Mississippi River and at noon disembarked at St. Louis—two years, four months, and ten days after they had left. Gathered along the shore, the one thousand people of St. Louis greeted the returned Corps with gunfire salutes and an enthusiastic welcome. -
Brigadier general of the militia in the Louisiana Territory,
In 1807, President Jefferson appointed Clark as the brigadier general of the militia in the Louisiana Territory, and the US agent for Indian affairs.
At the time, trade was a major goal and the US established the factory system. The government and its appointees licensed traders to set up trading posts in Native American territory.
Native American relations were handled in what became the War Department.[15] Clark set up his headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. -
1st marrige
After returning from his cross-country expedition, Clark married Julia Hancock on January 5, 1808, at Fincastle, Virginia. They had five children:[15] Meriwether Lewis Clark, Sr. (1809–1881), named after his friend and expedition partner; William Preston Clark (1811–1840); Mary Margaret Clark (1814–1821); George Rogers Hancock Clark (1816–1858), named after Clark's older brother; and John Julius Clark (1818–1831), named after his oldest brother Jonathan and Clark's wife. -
Governor of Missouri
When the Missouri Territory was formed in 1813, Clark was appointed as the governor by President Madison. He was reappointed to the position by Madison in 1816, and in 1820 by President Monroe -
Defeated as Governor of Missouri
When Missouri became a state in 1820, Clark was defeated in the election for governor by Alexander McNair. -
Julia's Death
Julia dies inthe1820s -
Marriage to Harriet Kennerly Radford
After Julia's death in 1820, William Clark married her first cousin, Harriet Kennerly Radford. They had three children together: Jefferson Kearny Clark (1824–1900), named after the president; Edmund Clark (1826–1827); and Harriet Clark, named after her mother (dates unknown; died as child). His second wife Harriet died in 1831. -
Appointment to Superindendent - Indian Affairs
In 1822, Clark was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs by President Monroe, a new position created by Congress after the factory system was abolished.[15] Clark remained in that position until his death; his title changed with the creation of the Office of Indian Affairs in 1824 and finally the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1829, both within the War Department. From 1824 to 1825, he was additionally appointed surveyor general of Illinois, Missouri and the Territory of Arkansaw. -
Death of William Clark
Wiliam Clark died in St. Louis on September 1, 1838 at age 68.