Jack McConville

Lewis and Clark, a team, like none other. Cartographers, explorers, you name it. William Clark was part of that team during the United States Expansion. And you will be told about him today. William Clark went from a wealthy child with a life full of dancing, hunting, and fighting, to an explorer. A man who explored Louisiana, and for what? Was it to be known? Was it to be appreciated? Let’s find out.

William had an adventurous and fortunate life. He was born on August 1^st, 1770, in Coraline County Virginia. He had nine siblings, one of them (George Rogers Clark) was a militia commander. His family was very wealthy and owned enslaved people. He was so inspired by his brother, that he joined the army, along with five other brothers. His parents were named John and Ann Clark.

Clark never did get very much formal education, although he was a rather intelligent man himself. Most of the time he was attending balls, shooting, fox hunting with his brother, or maybe cockfighting. If you are wondering what a cockfight is, it is a battle between to male chickens with sharp objects on their feet. That was why his life was so crazy.

During Clark’s time as a militia commander, he stumbled across a man named “Meriwether Lewis”. They were good friends and that really paid off for Clark. Clark was invited to join Lewis on an expedition of the newly found Louisiana territory. Lewis had been told by their current president “Thomas Jefferson” to lead the expedition. He felt inspired by Clark, so he invited him. William could not decline this offer as it was an honor to do it. He was inspired to start studying astronomy and map-making for the journey. He then began studying astronomy and map-making to prepare for the long journey.

William had two major struggles completing his journey. One of them was that he needed a group for the expedition. And two he needed to understand the native language. So, he hired an interpreter and guide named “Sacagawea”. She told them what the Indians were saying and helped them explore. William took some time to get the group together, he included one of his slaves, “York”. The rest of the group is not recognized for their heroic journey; however, the group did have a name. “The Corps of Discovery”. These are the struggles he had to push through to complete his journey.

Clark had many accomplishments, in fact too many to name them all. However, I do have two major ones that I shall tell you about. One of them we have spoken of a little bit, but not enough to cover it all. Lewis and Clark were the two leaders of The Corps of Discovery. But how long was it? What were the conditions like? Did they complete it? These are a few things that will be covered right now. The journey took two entire years, this was from 1804-1806. The conditions were harsh, the winters were freezing, and the wind was howling. And finally, yes, they did complete the journey. Lewis and Clark had done it. It helped them shape their country into something more.

This leads me to my next accomplishment, Clark’s rewards. Clark was awarded the role of superintendent of Indian affairs. He was also rewarded the role as governor of Missouri territory. This was for his cooperation. They also needed somebody to do these jobs. And he was right for it. These are just a few of his accomplishments. The rest, smaller.

Our excellent cartographer had a long life for back then, but he died on September 1^st, 1838. At the age of 68, he died from natural causes in St. Louis MO. He was buried in The Clark Family Plot in Bellefontaine Cemetery. A sad, yet natural death.

Bravery, explorer, leader, and determination are all words that describe William Clark. He explored the ocean and land and became a governor. You can remember William Clark by visiting a monument of William, Lewis, and Sacagawea in Charlottesville Virginia.