Francis Marion Clark (1833 - 1862)

Born 1833 in Montezuma, Avery, North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Frances M (Wise) Brewer — married 10 Sep 1854 in Yancey, North Carolina, United States

Descendants

Died 27 Jun 1862 at about age 29 in Watauga, North Carolina, United States

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Biography

[Francis] Marion Clark, father of J. Gipson Clark, was born in Watauga County, North Carolina, and though, like his brothers, strongly Union in sentiment, he was practically forced into the Confederate army. He was physically unfit for the service, and never returned home, being lost in Virginia. During his brief career he was a farmer. Marion Clark married Frances Wise, daughter of Josiah Wise, who married a Miss Davis. Their children were: J. Gipson; Sarah, who married Monroe Baird, of Watauga County; John, who married Susan Hicks and lives in New Mexico; and Jennie, who became the wife of Jordan Hicks, of Watauga County. Mrs. Marion Clark married for her second husband Rabe Brewer. She died in Watauga County, leaving by this second union two children, Nancy and Wesley. ^[1]

Francis Marion Clark married Frances Wise on September 10, 1854. ^[2]

In 1860 Francis Marion Clark and his wife Frankie Wise lived in Watauga County, North Carolina, Valley Crucis District, #16/12. The data for their census entry is:

1. Frances (sic) M. Clark 26 m Farmer $250/95 NC
2. Francis (sic) M. 26 f Housewife
3. Jeremiah G. 3
4. Sarah E. 1 ^[3]

Their world turned upside down in 1861. Politicians throughout the south had stirred secession for years. They typically stressed their desire to maintain slavery. Then it happened. One after another, states voted to leave the Union. ^[4]

Many of the mountain farmers in the western part of the state disagreed with the planters and politicians in Raleigh and voted overwhelmingly against secession. The wealthy plantation men and merchants of central and eastern North Carolina generally had businesses based on a slave economy and dominated state politics. ^[5] The Clarks were pro-Union and did not believe in slavery. They had no slaves and there were virtually no slaves in the mountain regions of North Carolina and Tennessee. ^[6]

During the early days of the Civil War, men joined the army for a variety of reasons. Infantry Companies generally formed county by county and as men joined, they entered service along with their neighbors. Peer pressure was a strong force. Manhood during the 19th century was often defined by intense beliefs in duty and honor. No man wanted to be branded a coward. Consequently, some men joined, even when they were not commited to the Confederate casue. ^[7]

Francis Marion was unfit for military service ^[1] but he and his brother Samuel were mustered into state service in November 1861.

Military service data for Francis M. Clark follows.

• Title: North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster
• Enlisted on September 18, 1861 in Watauga County, North Carolina
• Mustered into service on November 20, 1861 in North Carolina
• Mustered into Company E, 37th Infantry Regiment
• Killed on June 27, 1862 at Gaines' Mill, Virginia
• Side of War: Confederacy ^[8]

In May 1862 the 37th North Carolina Infantry Regiment was part of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s effort to push the Federal army away from Richmond. On June 27, 1862, the two armies amassed over 96,000 men. This became known as the Battle of Gaines’ Mill, the largest and most costly battle of the entire Peninsula Campaign.

It was a terrifying time for many young men in the army. Stories buzzed through camps about the ironclad ships battling on the nearby James River and observation balloons hovering overhead. All of this must have confounded Francis Marion and Samuel ... a ship made of iron floating on water and a large craft in the air floating like a bird. The Clark brothers were part of General A.P. Hill’s Division. They were caught up in a war that had expanded beyond all imagination.

The day was hot, hazy and still - and the brothers were in the middle of a battle line almost three miles long. They had to march a quarter mile across an open field then descend a slope and press through the heavily wooded Boatswain’s Swamp. The Swamp was a small creek with maybe 20-30 yards of mud, depending on the rain. Federal entrenchment were carved into the long slope on the other side of the Swamp with a massive line of Federal artillery on the ridge behind the entrenchments.

General Hill’s men moved forward and received continual artillery fire as they marched across the long field. Then, as Samuel and Francis Marion neared the Federal position, their brigade came under withering rifle and canister fire. By the time they were within twenty paces of the Federal entrenchments they were too decimated to continue. When the smoke cleared, the field and woods were littered with the dead and dying. Men with broken bodies were shrieking in pain. ^[9]

After the battle, Francis Marion Clark was found dead leaning against a tree. ^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Transcribed from A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, written and compiled by William E. Connelley, Secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka. [Revised ed.] Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1919, c1918. 5 v. (xlviii, 2530 p., [155] leaves of plates): ill., maps (some fold.), ports.; 27 cm. Pages 2200-2201.
2. ↑ "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLM3-QL72 : 14 April 2022), Francis M Clark and Frances Wise, 10 Sep 1854; citing Yancey, North Carolina, United States, p. , North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History; FHL microfilm .
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDD5-1W7 : 18 February 2021), Frances M Clark, 1860.
4. ↑ Rhea Cole. "Southern Reasons for Civil War." "What Did Southern Leaders Have To Say About The Reason For Secession?" American Civil War Forum. Accessed 14 April 2022.
5. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "North Carolina in the American Civil War," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=North_Carolina_in_the_American_Civil_War&oldid=1079187772 (accessed April 16, 2022).
6. ↑ Without A Country. Pages 4-5.
7. ↑ Sheritta Bitikofer. "Why Enlist Civil War." Belle on the Battlefield. Accessed 16 April 2022.
8. ↑ Historical Data Systems, Inc.; Duxbury, MA 02331; American Civil War Research Database. Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/480445:1555
9. ↑ Sears, Stephen W. The the Gates of Richmond - The Peninsula Campaign. New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1992. Pages 210-248.
10. ↑ Firsthand recollection by g-g-g gson Billy Howard from family oral tradition.

See also:

• "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP9J-LBNZ : 9 March 2021), Francis M Clark and Frances Wise, 10 Sep 1854; citing Wake, North Carolina, United States, p. , North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History; FHL microfilm .

• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4B2-TX5 : 24 December 2020), Marion Clark in household of Jeremiah Clark, Watauga Township, Watauga, North Carolina, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDD5-1W7 : 18 February 2021), Frances M Clark, 1860.

• Census: 1870 Watauga County, North Carolina, Valley Cruces PO #16/16
  • Frances Clark 39 f Keeping House $350/- N.C.
  • Jeremiah G. 12
  • Sarah E. 11
  • John W. 8
  • Darcus V. 8
  • Nancy L. 5

• Clark, Robert Bradley. Without A Country. West Des Moines, IA: Open Eyes Media, 2015.