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Military Service: Army

War(s) Served:  Revolutionary War

JOHN CLARK was born in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, on February 28, 1766. He had a long and distinguished military career, serving in the American Revolution as a 15-year-old lieutenant. One year later, he was promoted to captain and earned the reputation as a fierce Indian fighter. He rose to the rank of brigadier general in 1793, and was commissioned a major general in 1811. Clark was associated with the controversial Yazoo land sale, becoming the title-holder of enormous acres of land throughout the state. He entered politics in 1801 as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, a position he held until 1803. One year later, he was elected to the Georgia Senate. Clark also was committed to the back-country leadership faction that was against the faction led by George M. Troup. He ran unsuccessfully for the governor's office in 1813 and 1817; however, he was victorious in the 1819 election, becoming Georgia's 15th governor. He was reelected in 1821. During his tenure, he sponsored a revision to the state constitution that granted the popular election of governors. In 1824 the revision was sanctioned. A treaty was negotiated with the Creek Indians in 1821 that allowed the state to create five new counties on the land between the Ocmulgee and Flint Rivers. Clark advocated for additional appropriations to be spent on educational programs and internal developments. After leaving office, he ran unsuccessfully for the governorship in 1825. Clark moved to Florida in 1829, and was chosen by President Andrew Jackson as keeper of the public forests. Governor John Clark died on October 2, 1832, of yellow fever. He was buried at the family graveyard in Bay County, Florida, and was reinterred at the Marietta Cemetery in Georgia in 1922.

Sources:

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 1, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

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