Charles Clark - Facts

Full Name:

• Charles Clark

Birth Date:

• May 24, 1811

Birth Location:

• Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio

Parents:

• James and Charlotte Clark

Education:

• Augusta College (1831)

Occupation:

• Schoolteacher
• lawyer
• politician
• military officer

Career Summary:

• Brigadier General (CSA)
• Governor of Mississippi

Spouse:

• Ann Eliza Darden (1835)

Place of Death:

• Bolivar County, Mississippi

Date of Death:

• December 18, 1877

Place of Burial:

• Clark Cemetery, Bolivar County, Mississippi

Significance:

• Charles Clark was educated in Kentucky.
• In 1831, Charles Clark graduated from Augusta College, located in Augusta, Kentucky, in Bracken County.
• Charles Clark moved to Mississippi about 1831, where he taught school and studied law.
• Charles Clark was a staunch Whig supporter of Henry Clay.
• Charles Clark served in the Mississippi State Legislature from 1838 to 1844.
• Charles Clark organized the Thomas Hinds Guards, an infantry company that became a part of the Second Regiment of Mississippi Volunteers during the Mexican-American War.
• Charles Clark served as Colonel of the Second Mississippi Infantry during the Mexican-American War.
• Charles Clark was a delegate to the 1851 Mississippi Constitutional Convention.
• Charles Clark served in the Mississippi State Legislature from 1856 to 1861.
• Charles Clark became a member of the Democratic Party in 1860.
• Charles Clark served as a delegate to both 1860 Democratic conventions in Charleston and Baltimore.
• Charles Clark supported John Cabell Breckinridge for the presidency in 1860.
• Charles Clark was appointed Brigadier General, and later Major General of Mississippi State Troops.
• After the acceptance of the Mississippi Regiments into Confederate Service, Charles Clark was appointed brigadier general in the Confederate Army effective May 22, 1861.
• Charles Clark served as a brigade commander under Brigade in General Albert Sidney in Kentucky
• Charles Clark was severely wounded in the shoulder at the Battle of Shiloh.
• Charles Clark served as a division commander at the Battle of Baton Rouge
• Charles Clark was severely wounded in the hip during the Battle of Baton Rouge, crippling him for the remainder of his life.
• Charles Clark was elected Governor of Mississippi on October 5, 1863.
• Charles Clark served as Governor of Mississippi until Federal authorities arrested him on May 22, 1865.
• Charles Clark was imprisoned in Fort Pulaski, Georgia, but returned to Mississippi upon his release.
• After his release from prison, Charles Clark returned to practicing law and managing his plantation “Doro” in Bolivar County, Mississippi.
• In 1876, Charles Clark was appointed chancellor for the fourth judicial district and served on the bench until his death