Bayard Clarke (March 17, 1815 – June 20, 1884) was a

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from

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Biography

Born in New York City on March 17, 1815, Clarke was a member of one of the city's oldest and most prominent families. He graduated from

Geneva College Geneva College is a private Christian college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848 in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880. It enrolls about 1,400 undergraduates in over 30 majors, as wel ...

in 1835, studied law, and was admitted to the

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. From 1836 to 1840 he was

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was a United States Army officer and politician. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He was also the 1 ...

United States Minister to France The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations w ...

. While in France he was a student in the Royal Cavalry School. Upon returning to the United States, Clarke joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, receiving a commission as a second lieutenant in the 8th Infantry in March, 1841. He transferred to the 2nd Dragoons in September, 1841. During his service Clarke took part in the

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

in Florida. Clarke resigned from the army in December, 1843 and practiced law in New York City and

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

. Also in December, 1843 he married Alletta Remsen Lawrence, a member of another prominent New York family. He was an unsuccessful Whig candidate for election in 1852 to the Thirty-third Congress. In 1854 he was elected as an

Opposition Party In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government (or, in American English, the administration), party or group in political control of a city, region, state, coun ...

candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress, holding office from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1857. He declined renomination as a Republican in 1856 and resumed practicing law. At the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Clarke went to Washington, D.C. to offer his services. He was commissioned as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, and was an organizer of the 1st New York Cavalry Regiment (Lincoln Cavalry), which was commanded by

Carl Schurz Carl Christian Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German-American revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He migrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent ...

, Clarke, and then Andrew T. McReynolds. In mid-1861 there were news accounts indicating that Clarke would be commissioned a brigadier general and assigned to command a school for cavalry in Westchester County. This plan does not seem to have been carried out, since there are no further references to Clarke's promotion or the operation of a cavalry school in Westchester County. In retirement Clarke lived in England for several years. He later resided in Florida during the winter and an island on Schroon Lake, New York during the summer. He died on June 20, 1884, at his summer home, Isola Bella, in Schroon Lake. He was interred in a vault at First Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Newtown, New York. His name sometimes appears as "Clark" in contemporary news accounts and other records.New York Times
Local Military Movements
July 2, 1861

References

External links

a
Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Bayard 1815 births 1884 deaths Politicians from New York City New York (state) Whigs Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) New York (state) Republicans New York (state) lawyers United States Army officers Union army officers People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Hobart and William Smith Colleges alumni 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century New York (state) politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives