View source for William Clark

{{short description|American explorer and territorial governor (1770–1838)}}
{{other people}}
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{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = William Clark-Charles Willson Peale.jpg
| caption             = Portrait by [[Charles Willson Peale]] {{circa}} 1810
| title               = 4th [[List of governors of Missouri|Governor of Missouri Territory]]
| appointer           = [[James Madison]]
| term_start          = July 1, 1813
| term_end            = September 18, 1820
| predecessor         = [[Benjamin Howard (Missouri politician)|Benjamin Howard]]
| successor           = [[Alexander McNair]]
| office3             = [[Bureau of Indian Affairs|Superintendent of Indian Affairs]]
| term3               = May 28, 1822 – September 1, 1838
| successor3          = [[Joshua Pilcher]]
| predecessor3        = ''Position established''
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1770|08|01}}
| birth_place         = [[Ladysmith, Virginia|Ladysmith]], [[Colony of Virginia]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1838|09|01|1770|08|01}}
| death_place         = [[St. Louis, Missouri]], U.S.
| party               = 
| occupation          = {{hlist|Soldier|explorer|politician}}
| spouse              = {{ubl|{{Marriage|Julia Hancock|1808|1820|end=died}}|{{Marriage|Harriet Kennerly Radford|1820|1831|end=died}}}}
| relations           = {{ubl|[[Jonathan Clark (soldier)|Jonathan Clark]] (brother)|[[George Rogers Clark]] (brother)}}
| children            = 6, including [[Meriwether Lewis Clark, Sr.]]
| signature           = William Clark Signature.svg
| module={{Infobox military person
| embed=yes
| allegiance          = 
| branch              = Kentucky Militia <br> [[Infantry]]<br>[[Artillery]] <br> Louisiana Militia
| serviceyears        = 1789-1791 (Kentucky Militia) <br> 1792–1796 (Army)<br>1804–1807 (Army)<br> 1807-1814 (Louisiana Militia)
| rank                = Ensign (Kentucky Militia) <br> Lieutenant (Regular Army) <br> Brigadier General (Militia)
| unit                = [[Legion of the United States]]<br>[[Early U.S. Artillery formations|Regiment of Artillerists]]
| commands            = [[Corps of Discovery]]
| battles             = 
*[[Northwest Indian War]]
**[[Battle of Fallen Timbers]]
*[[War of 1812]]
}}
}}
'''William Clark''' (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, [[Indian agent]], and territorial governor.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QSbt0u0OUYC|title=William Clark and the Shaping of the West|last=Jones|first=Landon Y.|date=2004|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0809030415|language=en}}</ref> A native of [[Virginia]], he grew up in pre-statehood [[Kentucky]] before later settling in what became the state of [[Missouri]].

Along with [[Meriwether Lewis]], Clark led the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] of 1804–1806 across the [[Louisiana Purchase]] to the [[Pacific Ocean]], the first major effort to explore and map much of what is now the [[Western United States]] and to assert American claims to the Pacific Northwest.<ref name="Miller-2006">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ccnP7tWU7hwC|title=Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Manifest Destiny|last=Miller|first=Robert J.|date=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0275990114|pages=108|language=en}}</ref> Before the expedition, he served in a militia and the [[United States Army]]. Afterward, he served in a militia and as governor of the [[Missouri Territory]]. From 1822 until his death in 1838, he served as a U.S. [[Bureau of Indian Affairs|Superintendent of Indian Affairs]] in St. Louis.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kancoll.org/khq/1948/48_1_barry.htm | title=William Clark's Diary, May, 1826 - February, 1831, Part 1, edited by Louisa BARRY, Kansas Historical Quarterly, February, 1948 | access-date=November 11, 2024 | archive-date=November 11, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111052819/https://www.kancoll.org/khq/1948/48_1_barry.htm | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/St._Louis_Superintendency_of_Indian_Affairs |title=Archived copy |access-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111052804/https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/St._Louis_Superintendency_of_Indian_Affairs |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Early life==
William Clark was born in [[Caroline County, Virginia]], on August 1, 1770, the ninth of ten children of John and Ann Rogers Clark.<ref>Foley, ''Wilderness Journey'', 2–3</ref><ref>Jones, "William Clark and the Shaping of the West," 13–23</ref> His parents were natives of [[King and Queen County]], and were of English and possibly Scots ancestry.<ref name="Foley-2004">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/wildernessjourne00fole|url-access=registration|title=Wilderness Journey: The Life of William Clark|last=Foley|first=William E.|date=2004|publisher=University of Missouri Press|isbn=978-0826262639|pages=[https://archive.org/details/wildernessjourne00fole/page/2 2]|language=en}}</ref> The Clarks were planters in Virginia, owned several modest estates, and claimed ownership of several enslaved African Americans. They were members of the [[Anglican Church]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/wildernessjourne00fole|url-access=registration|title=Wilderness Journey: The Life of William Clark|last=Foley|first=William E.|date=2004|publisher=University of Missouri Press|isbn=978-0826262639|pages=[https://archive.org/details/wildernessjourne00fole/page/1 1] and 72|language=en}}</ref>

Clark did not have any formal education; like many of his contemporaries, he was tutored at home. In later years, he was self-conscious about his convoluted grammar and inconsistent spelling—he spelled "Sioux" 27 different ways in his journals of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]]—and sought to have his journals corrected before publication. The spelling of American English was not standardized in Clark's youth, but his vocabulary suggests he was well read.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/wildernessjourne00fole|url-access=registration|quote=18.|title=Wilderness Journey: The Life of William Clark|last=Foley|first=William E.|date=2004|publisher=University of Missouri Press|isbn=978-0826262639|pages=[https://archive.org/details/wildernessjourne00fole/page/18 18]–20|language=en}}</ref>

Clark's five older brothers fought in Virginia units during the [[American Revolutionary War]] (1775–1783), but William was too young.<ref name="Foley-2004" /> His oldest brother, [[Jonathan Clark (soldier)|Jonathan Clark]], served as a colonel during the war, rising to the rank of brigadier 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 [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|American Indians]]. After the war, the two oldest Clark brothers made arrangements for their parents and family to relocate to Kentucky.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}}

William, his parents, his three sisters, and the enslaved people claimed by the family 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 (Kentucky)|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 skills.<ref>Foley, ''Wilderness Journey'', 13–17.</ref>

==Military career begins==
Kentuckians fought the [[Northwest Indian War]] against American Indians, who were trying to preserve their territory north of the Ohio River. In 1789, 19-year-old William Clark joined a volunteer [[Militia (United States)|militia]] force under [[John Hardin|Major John Hardin]].<ref>Foley, ''Wilderness Journey'', 23.</ref> Clark kept a detailed journal of the expedition, beginning a lifelong practice. Hardin was advancing against the [[Wea Indians]], who had been raiding settlements in Kentucky, on the [[Wabash River]]. In error, the undisciplined Kentucky militia attacked a peaceful [[Shawnee]] hunting camp, where they killed a total of eight men, women, and children.<ref>Paul David Nelson. "Hardin, John"; ''[[American National Biography Online]]'' February 2000; Wiley Sword, ''President Washington's Indian War'' (University of Oklahoma Press, 1985), 77. Foley, ''Wilderness Journey'', 24–25, mentions the attack on the camp and the casualties, but does not identify the Indians as peaceful or as Shawnee.</ref>

In 1790, Clark was commissioned by General [[Arthur St. Clair]], governor of the [[Northwest Territory]], as a captain in the [[Clarksville, Indiana]] militia. One older source says he was sent on a mission to the [[Muscogee (Creek)|Creek]] and [[Cherokee]], whom the US hoped to keep out of the war, in the Southeast. His responsibilities are unclear.<ref name="in.gov">{{Cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/history/2955.htm|title=IHB: George Rogers Clark – Siblings|website=in.gov|language=en|access-date=October 12, 2017|archive-date=April 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430180736/https://www.in.gov/history/2955.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> He may have visited [[New Orleans]] at that time. His travels prevented him from participating in General [[Josiah Harmar]]'s [[Harmar's Defeat|disastrous campaign]] into the Northwest Territory that year.<ref>Foley, ''Wilderness Journey'', 25–26.</ref>

In 1791, Clark served as an ensign and acting lieutenant with expeditions under generals [[Charles Scott (governor of Kentucky)|Charles Scott]] and [[James Wilkinson]].<ref name=Oregon>Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 55</ref> He enlisted in the [[Legion of the United States]] and was commissioned as a lieutenant on March 6, 1792, under [[Anthony Wayne]]. On September 4, 1792, he was assigned to the 4th Sub-Legion. He was involved in several skirmishes with Indians during the continuing Northwest Indian War.<ref name="in.gov" /> At the [[Battle of Fallen Timbers]] in 1794, Clark commanded a company of riflemen who drove back the enemy on the left flank, killing a number of Native Americans and Canadians. This decisive US victory brought the Northwest Indian War to an end. In 1795, Clark  was dispatched on a mission to [[New Madrid, Missouri]]. Clark also served as an [[adjutant]] and [[quartermaster]] while in the militia.<ref name=Oregon/>

==Lewis and Clark Expedition==
{{main|Lewis and Clark Expedition}}
{{See also|Timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition}}
[[File:"Candlefish" or ooligan (Thaleichthys pacificus) here first ever documentation of this species by artist and explorer William Clark - Clark Family Collection- Volume 2. Voorhis Journal No. 2, page 60, February 25, 1806 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|"Candlefish" or "Eulachon" (''[[Thaleichthys pacificus]]'') art is the first ever documentation of this species in a Lewis and Clark Expedition journal on February 25, 1806.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ehrlich |first=George |date=1990 |title=The Illustrations in the Lewis and Clark Journals: One Artist or Two? |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/986841 |journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |volume=134 |issue=2 |pages=95–110 |jstor=986841 |issn=0003-049X |archive-date=December 3, 2024 |access-date=December 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203174059/https://www.jstor.org/stable/986841 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kris |date=2021-04-09 |title=Eulachon |url=https://lewis-clark.org/sciences/other-animals/eulachon/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=Discover Lewis & Clark |language=en-US |archive-date=December 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241205155622/https://lewis-clark.org/sciences/other-animals/eulachon/ |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
William Clark resigned his commission on July 4, 1796, and retired due to poor health, although he was only 26 years old.  He returned to Mulberry Hill, his family's [[plantations in the American South|plantation]] near Louisville.<ref name=Oregon/> His father died in 1799, at which point Clark inherited eight slaves. In 1799, he claimed ownership of least twenty-three enslaved African Americans. 

In 1803, [[Meriwether Lewis]] recruited Clark, then age 33, to share command of the newly formed [[Corps of Discovery]], whose mission was to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase, establish trade with Native Americans, and consolidate the sovereignty of the US. They were to find a waterway from the US to the Pacific Ocean and claim the Oregon territory for the United States before European nations did.<ref name="Miller-2006" /> Clark spent three years on the expedition to the Pacific Coast. The [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] nations treated York with respect, and many of the Native Americans were interested in his appearance, which "played a key role in diplomatic relations".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/2002/lewis_clark/lyork.html|title=Time Magazine: Lewis & Clark, The Slave York|date=November 28, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081128182139/http://www.time.com/time/2002/lewis_clark/lyork.html|archive-date=November 28, 2008|url-status=dead|access-date=October 12, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Wd7_5HpIxYC&q=William+Clark:+Indian+diplomat++By+Jay+H.+Buckley|title=William Clark: Indian Diplomat|last=Buckley|first=Jay H.|date=2008|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0806139111|pages=59, 241|language=en|access-date=October 21, 2020|archive-date=January 30, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130183853/https://books.google.com/books?id=0Wd7_5HpIxYC&q=William+Clark:+Indian+diplomat++By+Jay+H.+Buckley#v=snippet&q=William%20Clark%3A%20Indian%20diplomat%20%20By%20Jay%20H.%20Buckley&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although Clark was refused a promotion to the rank of captain when Jefferson asked the Senate to appoint him, at Lewis' insistence, he exercised equal authority, and continued the mission. Clark concentrated chiefly on the drawing of [[map]]s, the management of the expedition's supplies, and leading hunting expeditions for game.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lewisclarkexpedi00frit|url-access=registration|quote=senate.|title=The Lewis and Clark Expedition|last=Fritz|first=Harry W.|date=2004|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0313316616|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lewisclarkexpedi00frit/page/10 10]|language=en}}</ref>

==Indigenous nations and war==
In 1807, [[President Jefferson]] appointed Clark as the [[brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] of the militia in the [[Louisiana Territory]], and the US agent for [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian affairs]]. At the time, trade was a major goal and the US established the [[United States Government Fur Trade Factory System|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.<ref name=Oregon/> Clark set up his headquarters in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], where he would live for most of the rest of his life.

There he became a member of the [[Freemasons]], a secret fraternal group. The records of his initiation do not exist, but on September 18, 1809, Saint Louis Lodge No. 111 issued a traveling certificate for Clark.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pagrandlodge.org/freemason/0503/tot.html|title=Brothers Lewis and Clark|last=Libert|first=Laura|work=Treasures of the Temple|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627171022/http://www.pagrandlodge.org/freemason/0503/tot.html|archive-date=June 27, 2013|access-date=July 16, 2008}}</ref>

As a reward for their contributions during their expedition to the Pacific Lewis and Clark were given government positions. Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis territorial governor of Upper Louisiana, commander-in-chief of the militia, and superintendent of Indian Affairs.<ref>Buckley, Jay ''William Clark: Indian Diplomat''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, p. 66.</ref>  Although he was in charge of Indian affairs, Clark was under the supervision of the Governor of the Louisiana Territory. The governor had final say of all decisions made in the territory.  Although Clark had primary duties in dealing with the Native Americans, "the territorial governor held the title of ex officio superintendent of Indian affairs.<ref>Buckley, Jay ''William Clark: Indian Diplomat''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, p. 69.</ref>

Clark's experiences during his cross-continent expedition gave him the tools to be the ideal candidate for a diplomat to the Native Americans.  That was Jefferson's motives behind giving Clark these duties, although it would not be until Madison's presidency that Clark's title became official.  President James Madison appointed Clark as Missouri territorial governor and thus ''[[ex officio]]'' superintendent of Indian affairs in that region, during the summers of 1808 and 1813. In the earlier period, Clark performed the same duties that he would have if he held the title.<ref>Buckley, Jay ''William Clark: Indian Diplomat''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, p. 70.</ref>  During the years while Clark held position under Governor Lewis, he was continuously involved in decision-making with him. Clark was consulted on affairs on a regular basis. In Louisiana and Missouri, Clark served the United States government for the longest term in history as diplomat to the Native American peoples.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}}

Indian diplomacy occupied much of Clark's time; the dutiful soldier and bureaucrat never wavered in his commitment to an expansionist national agenda that expected Indians to surrender their lands, abandon their traditional ways, and acquiesce to the dictates of the U.S. government. But he was aware of the consequences and he demonstrated genuine concern for the plight of destitute native people increasingly threatened with extinction, so much so that Indian-hating frontier settlers called him an "Indian lover".<ref>Foley, ''Wilderness Journey'', p. xi.</ref> Clark's expeditions and frontier settlement gave him unique views and feelings toward Native Americans. He felt as though he held a firm hand when he had to, but at the same time he had passion towards them as people still deserving of rights.  At times he was said to be too compassionate.  Clark took his position as one of extreme importance to not only the government of the United States, but to the Native American people as well.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}}

Clark recognized Indians' nationalism, their history, language, culture, and territory and negotiated treaties between the various nations and his. He tried to protect Indians and preserve their culture by removing them from the influences of white society, providing life-saving inoculations, having their portraits painted, and assembling a museum of Indian artifacts. At the same time, he removed Indians from their ancestral lands; encouraged federal "civilization" and "education" programs to change native lifestyles, religious beliefs, and cultural practices; and usually promoted the interests of American citizens over Indian needs and desires.<ref>Buckley, Jay. ''William Clark: Indian Diplomat''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, p. xvi.</ref>

During the [[War of 1812]], Clark led several campaigns, among them in 1814, one along the [[Mississippi River]], up to the [[Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin|Prairie du Chien]] area. He established the short-lived [[Fort Shelby (Wisconsin)|Fort Shelby]], the first post in what is now [[Wisconsin]]. Soon, the post was captured by the British. 

==Governor of Missouri==
[[File:Portrait of William Clark.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Portrait by [[John Wesley Jarvis]] {{circa}} 1810]]
When the [[Missouri Territory]] was formed in 1813, Clark was appointed as the [[Governor of Missouri|governor]] by [[President Madison]].<ref name=Oregon/> He was reappointed to the position by Madison in 1816, and in 1820 by [[President Monroe]].<ref name=Oregon/>

William Clark appeared before Supreme Court Judge John B.C. Lucas in St. Louis on July 6, 1813, to take the oath of office as governor of the Missouri Territory.<ref>Foley, ''Wilderness Journey'', p. 195</ref> Clark's road to a gubernatorial appointment was long and complex.  Upon Lewis' appointment by Jefferson, Clark backed him and at times filled the role of governor without holding official position, due to Lewis' complications in life, whether it was debt, loneliness, or drinking.  Upon the death of Lewis in 1809, Clark declined to take office for varying reasons.

By the time he was appointed governor, Clark appreciated his own capabilities and embraced them rather than turning them away. When he took office, America was involved in the War of 1812 with the British.  Clark feared the influence the British would have on the Native Americans.  British tactics would include the use of Indians as allies in the fighting against the United States. In return for British victory, Indians would either be able to continue to occupy their current land or receive lands back that were taken from them previously by the United States Government. Clark held office for the next seven years until he was voted out of office in 1820, in the first election after [[Missouri]] became a state. He was defeated by [[Alexander McNair]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}}

==Superintendent of Indian Affairs==

In 1822, Clark was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs by President [[James Monroe]], a new position created by Congress after the [[Factory (trading post)|factory system]] was abolished.<ref name=Oregon/> Clark served 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 [[United States Department of War|War Department]]. From 1824 to 1825, he was additionally appointed [[surveyor general]] of [[Illinois]], Missouri, and the [[Territory of Arkansaw]]. It was around this time that Clark received a rare smoking pipe or [[Calumet (pipe)|calumet]] as a gift from a [[Potowatomi]] chief in Missouri. The pipe is held in the [[British Museum]]'s collection.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.aspx?people=173687&peoA=173687-3-18|title=Collection search: You searched for|website=British Museum|access-date=October 12, 2017|archive-date=January 30, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130184007/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection|url-status=live}}</ref>

As the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Clark was the most important man on Native American matters west of the Mississippi. As superintendent at St. Louis, Clark took on some additional duties: he issued licenses and granted passports to traders and travelers; provided payments for injuries and injustices to both whites and Indians; invoked military force to arrest lawbreakers; prevented or terminated hostilities between tribes; removed unauthorized persons from Indian country or confiscated their property; established, marked, and surveyed boundaries; distributed annuities and made sure that treaty provisions were delivered; and conducted treaty councils.<ref name="Buckley, Jay 2008, pg 147">Buckley, Jay ''William Clark: Indian Diplomat''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, p. 147.</ref>  Of the four superintendents of Indian affairs, the others were the governors of Michigan, Florida, and Arkansas territories; Clark had by far the largest superintendency.<ref name="Buckley, Jay 2008, pg 147"/>

Though Clark tried to maintain peaceful relations with indigenous nations and negotiated peace treaties, he was in charge of implementing President [[Andrew Jackson]]'s [[Indian removal]] policy. He managed retaliation against [[Black Hawk (Sauk leader)|Black Hawk]] and those allied with him in the [[Black Hawk War]], when hostilities arose between them and the Americans. Clark issued "an extermination order", which he gave to [[Lewis Cass]], a man who played a central role in Jackson's removal policy.<ref>Buckley, Jay ''William Clark: Indian Diplomat''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, pp. 196–97, 209.</ref>

Clark believed in the Jeffersonian ideology in which assimilation would be the best course of action for Native Americans. However, in the end, relocation of the Indians from their native lands became the government's primary goal, and even the assimilated [[Five Civilized Tribes]] were moved by force (threat of military action). Clark's government position on Native American affairs kept him at the forefront of countless relocations.  He expressed sympathy for those uprooted tribes and promoted their interests as he understood them, nevertheless, he agreed with and implemented the policy of Indian removal, negotiating 37, or one-tenth, of all ratified treaties between American Indians and the United States. Over the course of his career, millions of acres passed from Indian to U.S. ownership through Clark's hand.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Clark|title=William Clark {{!}} American explorer|last=Buckley|first=Jay|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=October 12, 2017|language=en|archive-date=October 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024143617/https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Clark|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Later life and death==
[[File:Graves of William Clark (1770–1838), Harriet Kennerly (1788–1831), Meriwether Lewis Clark Sr. (1809–1881), and Abigail Churchill Clark (1817–1852) at Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Clark family plot at Bellefontaine Cemetery]]
[[File:William Clark by George Catlin, 1832, oil on canvas, from the National Portrait Gallery - NPG-NPG 71 36Clark d1.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Portrait by [[George Catlin]], 1832]]

William Clark died in St. Louis on September 1, 1838, at age 68. Clark was originally buried at his nephew John O'Fallon's property, in 1838. That area is now known as [[O'Fallon Park]]. The funeral procession stretched for more than a mile and cannons fired a military salute. The entire city of St. Louis mourned his passing.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Movers and Shakers, Scalawags and Suffragettes: Tales from Bellefontaine Cemetery|last=Shepley|first=Carol Ferring|publisher=Missouri History Museum|year=2008|location=St. Louis, MO}}</ref>

Clark and six of his family members were later buried at [[Bellefontaine Cemetery]] on October 23, 1860. The monument that marks their graves, a {{convert|35|ft|m|adj=on}} gray granite [[obelisk]], was dedicated in 1904 on the centennial anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. Clark's son, Jefferson Kearney Clark, designed the monument and paid $25,000 for it ($425,000 in 2005 figures). Jefferson Clark's wife had to complete the building of the monument after Jefferson died in 1900. Many years later, the monument was restored and rededicated on May 21, 2004, to mark the bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery's departure from St. Charles, Missouri. Members of the Shoshone, Osage, and Mandan tribes spoke at the ceremony, marking Clark's service to these Indian nations during the final years of his life.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pZJjTe2FpxMC|title=Movers and Shakers, Scalawags and Suffragettes: Tales from Bellefontaine Cemetery|last=Shepley|first=Carol Ferring|date=2008|publisher=Missouri History Museum|isbn=978-1883982652|pages=55|language=en|access-date=October 12, 2017|archive-date=January 30, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130183855/https://books.google.com/books?id=pZJjTe2FpxMC|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Marriage and family==
After returning from his cross-country expedition, Clark married Julia Hancock on January 5, 1808, at [[Fincastle, Virginia]].  They had five children: [[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.<ref name=Oregon/>

After Julia's death in 1820, William Clark married Julia's first cousin, Harriet Kennerly Radford. They had three children together: Jefferson Kearny Clark (1824–1900), named after the president; Edmund Clark (1826–1827), named after another of his older brothers; and Harriet Clark, named after her mother (dates unknown; died as child). His second wife Harriet died in 1831.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}}

Clark allegedly had a [[Nez Perce]] son, Tzi-Kal-Tza/Halahtookit.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hamilton |first1=Natalie |title=Are There Native Descendants of the Lewis and Clark Expedition? And More Questions From Our Readers |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/native-descendants-lewis-clark-expedition-questions-readers-180975785/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411220551/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/native-descendants-lewis-clark-expedition-questions-readers-180975785/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Clark also served as a guardian to [[Jean Baptiste Charbonneau]], the son of [[Sacagawea]] and [[Toussaint Charbonneau]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}}

Clark was a habitually cruel enslaver. He repeatedly refused requests from York to live in Louisville with his family. Clark regularly whipped the people he enslaved, bragging about it in letters to his brother. He freed York but continued enslaving people until his death, leaving some enslaved persons to his children in his will.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holmberg |first=James |title=Dear Brother: Letters of William and Jonathan Clark |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2002}}</ref>{{rp|13}}

==Legacy==
===Honors===
* Clark was elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in 1814.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistc|title=MemberListC|work=American Antiquarian Society|access-date=October 12, 2017|language=en|archive-date=May 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508034125/http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistc|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Lewis and Clark 1954 Issue-3c.jpg|thumb|Lewis and Clark, 1954 issue]]
[[File:1904 Lewis and Clark dollar reverse.jpg|thumb|Clark depicted on the 1904–05 commemorative [[Lewis and Clark Exposition dollar]]]] 
*Both Lewis and Clark appear on the gold [[Lewis and Clark Exposition dollar]]s minted for the [[Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition]].  Among the [[early United States commemorative coins]], they were produced in both 1904 and 1905 and survive in relatively small numbers.
*Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were honored with a 3-cent stamp July 24, 1954, on the 150th anniversary of their expedition.<ref>Piazza, Daniel,"Lewis & Clark Expedition Issue", Arago: people, postage & the post, National Postal Museum. Viewed March 22, 2014.</ref>
* In 1965, Clark was inducted into the [[Hall of Great Westerners]] of the [[National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Hall of Great Westerners |url=https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/hall-of-great-westerners/ |website=National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum |access-date=November 21, 2019 |archive-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419213638/https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/hall-of-great-westerners/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In 1996, Clark was inducted to the [[St. Louis Walk of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=William Clark |url=https://stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductee/william-clark/ |website=Walk of Fame |access-date=August 15, 2024 |archive-date=August 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815024043/https://stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductee/william-clark/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In 2001, President [[Bill Clinton]] promoted Clark to the rank of [[Captain (United States O-3)|captain]] in the US Army posthumously. Descendants of Clark were there to mark the occasion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/new/html/Wed_Jan_17_101131_2001.html|title=President Clinton: Celebrating the Legacy of Lewis and Clark and Preserving America's Natural Treasures|date=January 17, 2001|publisher=FirstGov|access-date=November 8, 2010|archive-date=July 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723135936/http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/new/html/Wed_Jan_17_101131_2001.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*Celebrations took place on the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition. On May 14, 2004, the 200th anniversary of its outset, two companion 37-cent stamps were issued showing portraits of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. A special 32-page booklet accompanied the issue in eleven cities along the route taken by the Corps of Discovery.<ref>"Bicentennial Lewis & Clark Expedition Issue", Arago: people, postage & the post, National Postal Museum online, viewed April 28, 2014. An image of the stamps can be seen at Arago online,  [http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=2&cmd=1&id=172055&img=1&pg=1 37c Lewis and Clark on Hill stamp] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429050145/http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=2&cmd=1&id=172055&img=1&pg=1 |date=April 29, 2014 }}.</ref> On May 21, 2004, there was a rededication ceremony of the obelisk at Clark's grave site. Although his family had established endowments to maintain his grave site, by the late 20th century, the grave site had fallen into disrepair. His descendants raised $100,000 to rehabilitate the obelisk.  The ceremony was attended by a large gathering of Clark's descendants, reenactors in period dress, and leaders from the [[Osage Nation]] and the Lemhi band of the [[Shoshone]].{{cn|date=August 2024}}

===Eponyms===
* The western American plant genus ''[[Clarkia]]'' (in the evening primrose family ''[[Onagraceae]]''), is named after him, as are the [[cutthroat trout]] (''Oncorhynchus clarki''), and [[Clark's nutcracker]] (''Nucifraga columbiana''), a large passerine bird, in the family Corvidae.  All were species which Clark identified during the expedition.
* There are counties named in his honor in six states: [[Clark County, Arkansas|Arkansas]], [[Clark County, Idaho|Idaho]], [[Clark County, Kentucky|Kentucky]], [[Clark County, Missouri|Missouri]], [[Lewis and Clark County, Montana|Montana]], and [[Clark County, Washington|Washington]].
* The city of [[Clarkston, Washington]] is named for him.
* Natural features named for Clark include the [[Clarks River]] in western Kentucky, as well as the [[Clark Fork (river)|Clark Fork]] in Montana and Idaho, the [[Clarks Fork Yellowstone River]] in Montana and Wyoming, and [[Clark's Mountain]] in Oregon.
* Two U.S. Navy Vessels have been named in honor of Clark; the Polaris nuclear submarine [[USS Lewis and Clark (SSBN-644)|USS ''Lewis and Clark'']] and the supply ship [[USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE-1)|USNS ''Lewis and Clark'']] were named for him and Lewis.
* The [[Clark Bridge]], a cable-stayed bridge across the Mississippi River between West Alton, Missouri and Alton, Illinois, was named after him.
* Several higher education institutions are named for the explorers, including [[Lewis and Clark Community College]] in the [[Metro East]] region of Illinois, [[Lewis and Clark Law School]] and [[Lewis & Clark College]] in Portland, Oregon, and [[Lewis-Clark State College]] in Lewiston, Idaho.

==See also==
* [[York (explorer)]]
* [[Timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==General references==
* Buckley, Jay H. ''William Clark: Indian Diplomat''.  Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-8061-3911-1}}.
* Foley, William E. ''Wilderness Journey: The Life of William Clark''. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-8262-1533-5}}.
* Jones, Landon Y. ''William Clark and the Shaping of the West'', New York: Hill and Wang, 2004. {{ISBN|0-8090-9726-5}}.

==Further reading==
* ''The Unknown Travels and Dubious Pursuits of William Clark'' by Jo Ann Trogdon, 2015, University of Missouri Press

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|William Clark (explorer)}}
* [https://www.8thvirginia.com/blog/the-clarks-the-first-family-of-the-frontier "The Clarks: The First Family of the Frontier,"] 8thVirginia.com
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080323083500/http://www.in.gov/history/5073.htm#william Biography] from Indiana Historical Bureau
* {{Gutenberg author |id=6210}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=William Clark}}
* {{Librivox author |id=1384}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20230909182019/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/JOURNALS/toc.html ''The Journals of Lewis and Clark''], hypertext, American Studies at the University of Virginia (archived)
* [http://collections.mohistory.org/search/custom_search?addfacet=maker_facet:Clark%2C+William ''The Journals of William Clark''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114205046/http://collections.mohistory.org/search/custom_search?addfacet=maker_facet:Clark%2C+William |date=January 14, 2014 }}, Missouri History Museum
* [https://www.kansasmemory.org/locate.php?&categories=3913-4004& William Clark documents and images, including records of the St. Louis Superintendency of Indian Affairs] on Kansas Memory, digital portal of the Kansas Historical Society
* [https://www.c-span.org/video/?163696-1/writings-lewis-clark "Writings of Lewis and Clark"] from [[C-SPAN]]'s ''[[American Writers: A Journey Through History]]''
* [[hdl:10079/fa/beinecke.clark|Lewis and Clark Expedition Maps and Receipt.]] Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
* [[hdl:10079/fa/beinecke.field|William Clark Field Notes]]. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
* [[hdl:10079/fa/beinecke.starrl|Louis Starr Collection Concerning the Field Notes of William Clark]]. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
* Jennifer Ott. [https://www.historylink.org/File/9814 "Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition visits the future site of Long Beach on November 19, 1805"]. HistoryLink.org: The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History.

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{{succession box|
 before=[[Benjamin Howard (Missouri politician)|Benjamin Howard]]|
 title=[[List of Governors of Missouri|Governor of Missouri Territory]]|
 years=1813–1820|
 after=[[Alexander McNair]] (statehood)
}}
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{{American frontier}}
{{Governors of Missouri}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, William}}
[[Category:1770 births]]
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[[Category:American explorers of North America]]
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[[Category:Governors of Missouri Territory]]
[[Category:Lewis and Clark Expedition people]]
[[Category:People from Caroline County, Virginia]]
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