Samuel Churchill Clark (September 12, 1842March 8, 1862) was a Confederate military officer who was killed during 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 ...

in the

Battle of Pea Ridge The Battle of Pea Ridge (March 7–8, 1862), also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, took place during the American Civil War near Leetown, Arkansas, Leetown, northeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas. United States, Feder ...

Early life

Samuel Churchill Clark was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

on September 12, 1842. He was born to Major Meriwether Lewis Clark and Abigail Churchill. His grandfather was famed American explorer

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

whose brother was

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...

. His brother was prominent St. Louis citizen

Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. (January 27, 1846 – April 22, 1899) was the founder of the Louisville Jockey Club and the builder of Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby is run. Life and career He was the grandson of explorer and Missouri gov ...

and the founder of

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

. On his mother's side of the family, his uncle was the 13th Governor of Arkansas

Thomas James Churchill Thomas James Churchill (March 10, 1824 – May 14, 1905) was an American soldier and politician who served as the List of Governors of Arkansas, 13th governor of Arkansas from 1881 to 1883. Before that, he was a senior Officer (armed force ...

American Civil War

In 1859, Samuel Churchill Clark was admitted to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

. Missouri Governor Trusten Polk was one of the several advocates who appealed to President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

on his behalf. The onset of the

led to his resignation as a cadet, prompting his departure home on July 1, 1861.

Missouri State Guard

Enlisting as a private, Clark joined the

Missouri State Guard The Missouri State Guard (MSG) was a military force established by the Missouri General Assembly on May 11, 1861. While not a formation of the Confederate States Army, the Missouri State Guard fought alongside Confederate troops and, at variou ...

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Lexington is in western Missouri, within the Kansas City metropolitan area, approximately east of Kansas C ...

. He was first assigned to the 8th Division of the MSG under James S. Rains. At the First Battle of Lexington in September 1861, he fought as an

artilleryman Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to h ...

within the Missouri forces of Major General

Sterling Price Sterling Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was an American politician and military officer who was a senior General officers in the Confederate States Army, officer of the Confederate States Army, fighting in both the Weste ...

. In command of two pieces of

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...

, he targeted the

Masonic College Masonic College was a higher education institution in the U.S. state of Missouri that was established by Freemasons in 1844 and operated until 1857. History The Grand Lodge of Missouri opened the first Masonic College in Philadelphia, Missouri, ...

building and grounds, where Union Colonel

James A. Mulligan James Adelbert Mulligan (June 30, 1830 – July 26, 1864) was Colonel (United States), colonel of the 23rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. On February 20, 1865, the United States Senate conf ...

's forces had their Federal headquarters. On October 23, 1861, he was appointed captain of the 1st Battery of Artillery in the 4th Division of the State Guard under General

William Y. Slack William Yarnel Slack (August 1, 1816 – March 21, 1862) was an American lawyer, politician, and military officer who fought for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Born in Kentucky, Slack moved to Missouri as a ch ...

Confederate States Army

On January 16, 1862, the battery was reorganized by General Price for service in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

. Captain Clark's battery, part of the First Missouri Confederate Brigade under Colonel Henry Little, and armed with four field pieces, was the first brigade in the division overseen by Price.

Battle of Pea Ridge

During the

on March 7 and 8, 1862, he led the 2nd Missouri Light Battery and was among the State Guard and Confederate forces killed in action. He was killed by a Union

round shot A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

while limbering up his last gun for retreat, having already withdrawn his other guns as ordered.

Death

Captain Samuel Churchill Clark died on March 8, 1862, in

Pea Ridge, Arkansas Pea Ridge is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The name Pea Ridge is derived from a combination of the physical location of the original settlement of the town, across the crest of a ridge of the Ozark Mountains, and for the ho ...

. Clark's final resting place is Fairview Cemetery in

Van Buren, Arkansas Van Buren ( ) is the second-largest city in the Fort Smith metropolitan area, Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area and the county seat of Crawford County, Arkansas, Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. The city is lo ...

.Donald L. Barnhart Jr. (7/3/2024) Man in Black’s Death at Pea Ridge Dooms Southern Prospects in Trans-Mississippi. HistoryNet Retrieved from https://www.historynet.com/man-in-blacks-death-at-pea-ridge-dooms-southern-prospects-in-trans-mississippi/.

Honors

, his name is engraved on the Van Buren Confederate Monument.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Samuel Churchill 1842 births 1862 deaths Confederate States Army officers People of Missouri in the American Civil War Missouri State Guard