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Biographical Notes
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William Clark
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On May 12, 1792 Captain Robert Gray sailed into the Mouth of the Columbia River. His celestial observations fixed the exact extent of the continent. On July 22, 1792, Alexander MacKenzie, a British fur trader, arrived at King Island, British Columbia thus becoming the first Anglo-European to cross the continent by land. While these events were taking place on the West Coast, William Clark was distinguishing himself in gaining an alliance with the Chickasaw Indian tribe. General Wayne commented favorably on his performance to Secretary of War Henry Knox. When Wayne advanced north to do battle with hostile Indians and British agents, Clark and his Chickasaw allies were used as advance scouts. In the subsequent months Clark performed a number of supply functions and was eventually named quartermaster of the Fourth Sub-Legion. He developed a disrespect for Wayne and grew closer to Wilkinson. In 1794 Clark was present at the Battle of Fallen Timbers and came away from it believing that Wayne could have had an even greater victory had he utilized his mounted Kentucky riflemen more effectively. In the months after Fallen Timbers, however, Clark grew disillusioned with Wilkinson and was less critical of Wayne. On his return to Fort Greenville in November 1794, he was given command of a company of riflemen. It was at this time that Clark first met Meriwether Lewis a newly assigned ensign in another unit assigned to Fort Greenville. On August 3, 1795, the Treaty of Greenville was signed by Wayne and about eighty Indian chiefs. The treaty opened the lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River to settlement. It complimented the Jay Treaty of 1794 which ended British designs on the same territory.
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In 1795 the Spanish commenced construction of a fort on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River at Chickasaw Bluffs. Clark was given a small contingent and sent to complain about this intrusion into the territory of the United States of America. He handled the task well and was again mentioned in Wayne's dispatches to the Secretary of War - now Thomas Pickering. This time President Washington took note of Clark. Shortly after returning to Greenville, Ensign Meriwether Lewis, who had challenged a fellow officer to a duel, was reassigned to Lieutenant Clark's unit. The two men got along well and became personal friends. On July 1, 1796, Clark resigned his commission and returned to Mulberry Hill. George Rogers Clark, now in deteriorating health and drinking heavily, had obtained large amounts of land as compensation for his service to his country, but he was deeply in debt and without ready cash. William went to work trying to help clear up his debt by selling off some of his land. During this period he traveled widely and was well received by his brother's many friends. He also took over the management of Mulberry Hill and its tobacco crop. In March and April 1798, he took a flatboat loaded with tobacco down the Mississippi to New Orleans. Clark was in New Orleans when word of the XYZ Affair arrived and rumors of war with Spain and France circulated. In July Clark took passage on the Star bound for Philadelphia. After an eventful six week long voyage he managed to reach port in New Castle, Delaware. From New Castle he went on to Baltimore and Washington D.C. before returning to Mulberry Hill.
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Clark's mother died on December 24, 1798, and his father died on July 29, 1799. Thanks to his inheritance of land and slaves, William Clark was now part of Kentucky's planter elite, but his personal financial position was severely strained by his continuing efforts to help clear up his brother's debts. In April 1801, Captain Meriwether Lewis became newly elected President Thomas Jefferson's personal secretary. Late in 1802 Spain closed New Orleans to American shipping. Jefferson, who had never lost interest in exploring the interior of the continent, now wanted to find out once and for all if there was a water passage across the continent that might prove to be an alternative route to Mississippi and New Orleans. He renewed his interest in the exploration that he had first discussed with George Rogers Clark in 1784. In January 1803 Jefferson secretly requested funds for the exploration from Congress. On April 11, 1803, the French Minister Charles-Maurice de Tallyrand-Perigord asked the American Minister to France Charles Livingston how much the United States would give for the whole of Louisiana. On May 2, 1803, the Treaty of Cession was signed and Jefferson made the "Louisiana Purchase." On July 17, 1803, William received a letter from Meriwether Lewis asking if he would be part of an expedition to explore the interior of the continent. Lewis explained that Clark would be commissioned a captain and the two of them would be co-equal leaders of the expedition. Clark accepted and immediately began recruiting personnel for the journey.
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"The expedition became known as the "Voyage of Western Discovery." After struggling with all manner of difficulties it got under way on October 26, 1803, when Lewis and Clark pushed off from Point of Rocks on the Ohio River. From Point of Rocks they proceeded down the Ohio to the Mississippi and then proceeded upstream to St. Louis where Lewis stopped to gather their final supplies. Clark and the rest of the party continued on to the mouth of the Missouri River where he established a winter camp. Both Lewis and Clark attended the official ceremonies in St. Louis transferring Louisiana from France to the United States on March 10, 1804. Wilkinson, who was a secret agent working for the Spanish government, kept the Spanish informed and recommended that they be arrested for trespass. Over the next two years the Spanish made four attempts, but failed to intercept them. On May 8 Clark received his commission not as a captain, but rather as a lieutenant, second in command to Lewis. The two men decided that no one in the expedition should be told of it and that they would continue to act as co-equal leaders. On May 14, 1804, they left winter camp and started up the Missouri River. In November they reached the Mandan Villages and established their winter camp. In April 1805 they continued up the Missouri, crossed the continental divide and established their winter camp at the mouth of the Columbia River. On their return in 1806 they divided into two parties for part of the journey to better explore the enormous area that they were traversing, but rejoined on the Missouri on August 12, 1806. On September 23, 1806, they returned to St. Louis.
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