William Clark
1770-1838
American Explorer
William Clark is best known as co-leader of the Corps of Discovery, leadership he shared with Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809). In this role Clark helped explore the Louisiana Purchase and western territories stretching to the Pacific Ocean, becoming in the process one of the greatest American explorers.
Born in 1770 in the state of Virginia, Clark's family soon moved to Kentucky. Clark was the younger brother of General George Rogers Clark, a Revolutionary War hero and a friend of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). Clark joined the United States Army in 1790 and first met Lewis in 1795 when both were assigned to the same rifle company for six months. Prior to their meeting, Clark fought in the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
William Clark. (Archive Photos, Inc. Reproduced by permission.)Though they spent only a short time together, Lewis and Clark developed a great respect for one another that lasted despite infrequent contact over the next several years. Resigning his commission because of ill health and responsibility for his family's business, Clark moved to Indiana, where he lived until contacted by Lewis in 1803 and asked to help lead the expedition.
In many ways, Clark complemented Lewis's abilities. While both were skilled woodsmen, Clark was an accomplished surveyor, an excellent mapmaker, and a talented waterman—all skills that would be needed for their expedition. Like Lewis, Clark was a born leader. Unlike Lewis, however, Clark kept a regular journal, though without the eye for detail or the literary flair that Lewis exhibited in his entries.
All evidence indicates that Clark shared leadership of the expedition equally with Lewis, though documents show that Lewis had the higher military rank throughout. At times, especially on the return journey, the men split up, each taking part of the expedition in separate directions in order to explore as much as possible. It appears as though Clark worked with Lewis's full confidence and did a superb job of leading his part of the expedition.
After their return from their journey, Clark was recommended for promotion to LieutenantColonel, a recommendation rejected by Congress because of Clark's lack of seniority. However, Congress did approve naming him Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Louisiana Territory, a post to which he was assigned in 1807. A few years later, Clark courted and married Julia Hancock, and in 1809 fathered a son whom he named after his friend Meriwether Lewis.
In spite of his accomplishments with the Corps of Discovery, Clark's leadership and political skills were so impressive that, for nearly a century, they overshadowed his role as part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. In fact, a massive history of the Jefferson administration written towards the end of the nineteenth century made scant mention of the Corps of Discovery at all. Part of the reason for this relative lack of attention may have been the stigma associated with Lewis's suicide in 1809. The full reason, however, is not fully known. In any event, the early part of the twentieth century saw a fuller realization of the role played by both Lewis and Clark in exploring and opening the American West, led in part by Theodore Roosevelt's enthusiasm for their journals and journey.
Clark died in 1838 at age 68. He left a legacy of accomplishments as an explorer, leader, and political appointee. His undisputed skills as a woodsman, waterman, and soldier further round out his reputation as a remarkable man who made a deep and lasting impression on his nation.
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