John Bullock Clark

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For his son, see John Bullock Clark Jr.

John Clark
William Augustus Hall
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
In office
1850–1851
Personal details
Born(1802-04-17)April 17, 1802
Missouri Mormon War
American Civil War

John Bullock Clark Sr. (April 17, 1802 – October 29, 1885) was a

Mormon Extermination Order, and was involved in the ending stages of the conflict. He was the Whig candidate in the 1840 Missouri gubernatorial election. Clark was accused of conspiring to commit electoral fraud in the election and as a result almost fought a duel with Claiborne Fox Jackson, later a Governor of Missouri
.

In 1850, Clark was elected as a Whig to the Missouri House of Representatives and served into 1851. He was elected in 1857 to fill a vacancy in one of Missouri's seats in the United States House of Representatives. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Clark, a wealthy owner of 160 slaves, became a leading secessionist in Missouri. After the pro-secessionist Missouri State Guard (MSG) was formed in May 1861, he was appointed by Jackson as a brigadier general commanding the MSG's 3rd Division. After leading his troops against Federal forces in the Battle of Carthage, Missouri on July 5, Clark was expelled from the House of Representatives for fighting against the United States. On August 10, he led his division in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, in which he was wounded.

After being appointed as a delegate to the

Second Confederate Congress, Clark served in that role until March 1865. After the defeat of the Confederacy, he fled to Mexico, but was arrested upon his return to Texas in late 1865. He was released after several months, and returned to Missouri in 1870, where he practiced law for the rest of his life. His son, John Bullock Clark Jr., was a general in the Confederate States Army
and later served in the United States Congress.

Early life and militia service

The child of Bennett and Martha Clark, John Bullock Clark was born in

Methodist Church, and the historian Christopher Phillips describes him as devout.[4] In 1826 he married Eleanor Turner.[5] His son, John Bullock Clark Jr. was born in 1831.[6]

Clark was active in the Missouri

Mormon Extermination Order, which included the statement "The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace".[11] The order instructed Clark to move with a force of troops to Richmond, Missouri, and there "operate against the Mormons".[12]

Clark was the only person to receive the order; he disseminated copies of it to the other relevant officers.[13] After receiving the Extermination Order, Clark mobilized a force to take to Richmond.[12] David Rice Atchison was already commanding Missouri troops in the field, but Boggs ordered Clark to take command over Atchison, who left the field.[14] On November 1, the Mormons surrendered.[15] Alexander William Doniphan refused orders to execute captured Mormon leaders on November 2; Mormon sources later claimed Clark had supported the idea of executing the Mormon leaders.[16] Clark's 1,500-man column arrived in Richmond on November 3, and enforced the terms of the surrender. He investigated claims of atrocities committed during the conflict, particularly using information provided by Sampson Avard. As a result of his investigation, 50 Mormons were arrested.[17] Clark then made a speech to local Mormon men, ordering them out of the state by early 1839. He warned them not to congregate in groups of more than four, or "the citizens [of Missouri] will be upon you and destroy you". The historian Stephen C. LeSueur describes Clark's speech as humiliating for the Mormons.[18]

United States political career

Politically, Clark was a Whig,[1] and was the party's nominee for the 1840 Missouri gubernatorial election. The historian Perry McCandless describes Clark as "not a top leader" in the party. The Whigs were a minority in Missouri at this time, and the Democrats performed well against the Whigs in the state elections that year.[19] During the election, Democratic newspapers spread claims that the Whigs had distributed false party ballots in parts of the state that substituted Clark for Thomas Reynolds, the Democratic candidate. The Democratic politician Claiborne Fox Jackson wrote a thinly pseudonymous letter accusing Clark of being complicit in the false ballots scheme. Jackson transcribed a letter (including deliberately reproducing a spelling error) purportedly sent between Clark and James H. Birch. The Democrats claimed the Clark letter had been found in a saddlebag and Clark claimed it had been stolen from his hat after he left it unattended.[20] Enraged, Clark sent letters back and forth to Jackson using third parties; the exchange culminated in Clark challenging Jackson to a duel in mid-September. Jackson responded with terms that put Clark at a disadvantage and may have actually been a bluff. No duel occurred, and Clark's reputation in the state was damaged.[21] Clark lost the election, 29,625 votes to 22,212.[22] In 1848, Clark was again appointed a major general in the state militia, a rank he held until 1861.[8]

Running as a Whig, Clark was elected to the

United States Senator that year, but his views were off-putting to moderate members of the party, who, in the words of McCandless, considered him the "most apt to disrupt the party and the Union"; the nomination went to Henry S. Geyer.[25] Clark remained in office until 1851.[7]

By 1857, Clark had switched allegiance from the Whigs to the Democrats due to his pro-slavery views.

St. Louis, Missouri; a riot occurred when he took his prisoners through the St. Louis streets. The Missouri state government responded by creating a pro-secession militia organization known as the Missouri State Guard (MSG).[30]

Confederate service

Missouri State Guard

Map of Missouri, showing geographical divisions. Division 1 is in the southeast, Division 2 in the northeast, Division 3 in the east north central, Division 4 in the west north central, Division 5 in the northwest, Division 6 in the central region, Division 7 in the South Central, Division 8 in the west central and southwest, and Division 9 in the east central
A map of the divisions of the Missouri State Guard. Clark commanded the 3rd Division in north-central Missouri.

Jackson, who was now Missouri's governor, appointed Clark to command the 3rd Division of the MSG, which was located in the north-central part of the state.

John Sappington Marmaduke formed a joint command.[33] Lyon attacked on June 17 and routed the MSG force in the Battle of Boonville.[34]

Clark was at

Ben McCulloch.[38] An action of Clark's increased McCulloch's distrust of the MSG troops. A large number of men in Clark's division were unarmed. Believing the unarmed men to be a waste of supplies, McCulloch wanted Clark to send them home, but Clark refused; McCulloch had no direct authority to order Clark to disperse the men.[39]

Boonville and Jefferson City are in central Missouri. Carthage, Cassville, and Wilson's Creek are in southwestern Missouri, in that order from west to east
Jefferson City
Jefferson City
Boonville
Boonville
Carthage
Carthage
Cassville
Cassville
Wilson's Creek
Wilson's Creek
class=notpageimage|
Significant sites in Clark's Civil War service

In early August, the combined Confederate and MSG commands moved to a camp along

Wilson's Creek.[40] Lyon had moved his army to Springfield, and Price wanted to attack. McCulloch demurred, but late on April 9, Price, backed by Clark and other MSG officers, pushed for an attack. McCulloch agreed to schedule one for the following morning after Price threatened to take command and lead an offensive himself.[41] Instead, Lyon attacked early on the morning on April 10, catching the Confederates and MSG by surprise and beginning the Battle of Wilson's Creek.[42] Once Price learned of the attack, he ordered Clark's division, along with those of William Y. Slack, James H. McBride, and Mosby Monroe Parsons, to bring up their infantry and artillery.[43] Clark later tried to order the cavalry portion of his division to support his infantry, but the cavalry became greatly disorganized by Union artillery fire and the few who entered the fighting at this time instead fought with McBride's men or the South Kansas-Texas Mounted Volunteers, as they were able to locate them in the chaos of battle quicker than Clark's men.[44] After the battle, McCulloch praised Clark in his after-action report.[45] Clark was wounded in the leg during the battle.[46] He resigned his commission in the MSG on December 6.[8]

Confederate Congress and later life

In October, Jackson and the deposed secessionist government voted to secede and join the Confederacy as the

constituency".[49] Clark was selected to be one of the two senators, with a two-year term.[50] The First Confederate Congress was in session from February 18, 1862, to February 17, 1864,[51] and Clark was in office for the entirety of that time span.[8]

As a senator, Clark served on the Foreign Affairs, Indian Affairs, Post Offices & Post Roads, Printing, Public Lands, and Territories committees.[48] Clark supported regional interests for the western portion of the Confederacy while in office. He sought to halt conscription in areas threatened by Federal forces, and supported the creation of partisan ranger units. While he usually opposed providing Confederate president Jefferson Davis with appointive powers, Clark generally voted pro-administration on matters that did not affect his region.[52] He supported a stronger prosecution of the war.[29] Davis viewed Clark as an enemy due to the times he opposed Davis's positions.[52] At the end of his term, Confederate Governor of Missouri Thomas Caute Reynolds[b] did not re-appoint Clark to the Senate.[29] By this time, the authority of the Confederate government of Missouri had waned to the extent that Warner and Yearns describe Reynolds's authority as extending "just so far as the spot upon which he was standing".[52] A number of allegations developed against Clark during his time in office, including alcoholism, disorderly behavior, mendacity, and in the words of Warner and Yearns, the "attempted seduction of Albert Pike's mistress".[29][52] The Senate seat previously held by Clark then went to George Graham Vest.[55]

In May 1864, an election for the Confederate House of Representatives resulted in Clark defeating

Second Confederate Congress.[52] He held this position from June 10, 1864, to March 18, 1865,[8] and served on the Elections and Military Affairs committees.[48] After the Confederate defeat in 1865, a $10,000 reward was issued for Clark's arrest, but he evaded capture by using a disguise and a fake name to flee to Mexico.[29]

Having heard he was no longer wanted by the authorities,

Missouri Supreme Court issued a decision upholding a Missouri legal requirement to take the oath in order to hold political office.[59] The Ironclad Oath was not removed from the Missouri constitution until 1870.[60] Once his political rights were rehabilitated, Clark resumed practicing law,[52] at Fayette.[29] He practiced law for the remainder of his life.[61] In 1872, he ran for a seat in the United States Congress one final time, but the nomination went to his son, who had been a general in the Confederate service.[29][62] He died on October 29, 1885, in Fayette.[29]

See also

Notes

  1. Danites.[10]
  2. ^ A different Thomas Reynolds than Clark's 1840 gubernatorial opponent.[53][54]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Allardice 1995, p. 59.
  2. ^ a b c d e Warner & Yearns 1975, p. 49.
  3. ^ a b c Burchett 2012, p. 91.
  4. ^ Phillips 2000, p. 98.
  5. ^ Vandiver 1926, p. 224.
  6. ^ Warner 2006, p. 52.
  7. ^ a b c d "Clark, John Bullock (1802–1885)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Eicher & Eicher 2001, p. 174.
  9. ^ LeSueur 1990, pp. 149–150.
  10. ^ LeSueur 1990, pp. 114–115, 193.
  11. ^ LeSueur 1990, pp. 151–152.
  12. ^ a b LeSueur 1990, p. 152.
  13. ^ LeSueur 1990, p. 162.
  14. ^ LeSueur 1990, pp. 157–158.
  15. ^ LeSueur 1990, pp. 175–178.
  16. ^ LeSueur 1990, pp. 183–184, including fn. 14.
  17. ^ LeSueur 1990, pp. 188–189.
  18. ^ LeSueur 1990, pp. 189–190.
  19. ^ McCandless 1972, p. 126.
  20. ^ Phillips 2000, pp. 95–97.
  21. ^ Phillips 2000, pp. 97–100.
  22. ^ Conard 1901, p. 179.
  23. ^ McCandless 1972, p. 252.
  24. ^ McCandless 1972, p. 247.
  25. ^ McCandless 1972, pp. 252–253.
  26. ^ Allardice 1995, pp. 59–60.
  27. ^ a b Piston & Hatcher 2000, p. 37.
  28. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 1–4.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Allardice 1995, p. 60.
  30. ^ Piston & Hatcher 2000, pp. 35–37.
  31. ^ Piston & Hatcher 2000, p. 38.
  32. ^ Brooksher 2000, pp. 81–82.
  33. ^ Hinze & Farnham 2004, p. 43.
  34. ^ Brooksher 2000, pp. 88–90.
  35. ^ Piston & Hatcher 2000, pp. 103–104, 337.
  36. ^ "List of Individuals Expelled, Censured, or Reprimanded in the U.S. House of Representatives". United States House of Representatives History, Art and Archives. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  37. ^ "Hall, William Augustus 1815–1888". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  38. ^ Piston & Hatcher 2000, pp. 134–135.
  39. ^ Brooksher 2000, pp. 153–154.
  40. ^ Piston & Hatcher 2000, pp. 154–156.
  41. ^ Piston & Hatcher 2000, p. 161.
  42. ^ Piston & Hatcher 2000, pp. 192–193, 196.
  43. ^ Piston & Hatcher 2000, p. 205.
  44. ^ Piston & Hatcher 2000, pp. 226–227.
  45. ^ Piston & Hatcher 2000, p. 313.
  46. ^ Vandiver 1926, p. 230.
  47. ^ Warner & Yearns 1975, p. 20.
  48. ^ a b c Warner & Yearns 1975, p. 272.
  49. ^ a b Warner & Yearns 1975, pp. 20–21.
  50. ^ Warner & Yearns 1975, pp. 49–50.
  51. ^ Warner & Yearns 1975, p. 293.
  52. ^ a b c d e f Warner & Yearns 1975, p. 50.
  53. ^ McCandless 1999, pp. 646–647.
  54. ^ Christensen 1999, pp. 647–648.
  55. ^ Warner & Yearns 1975, p. 245.
  56. ^ Sheridan 1899a, p. 755.
  57. ^ Sheridan 1899b, p. 870.
  58. ^ Parrish 2001, pp. 121, 134–135.
  59. ^ Parrish 2001, pp. 238–239.
  60. ^ "1861 ~ Civil War Upheaval Begins Era of Ousters from Office, 'Loyalty Oaths'". courts.mo.gov. Missouri Courts. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  61. ^ Hinze & Farnham 2004, p. 217.
  62. ^ Vandiver 1926, pp. 234–235.

Sources

Political offices
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 3rd congressional district

1857–1861 		Succeeded by
William Hall
Confederate States Senate
New constituency
Confederate States Senator (Class 1) from Missouri

1862–1864 		Succeeded by
Confederate States House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the
C.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 3rd congressional district

1864–1865 		Constituency abolished
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