Early Life and Career
Clark was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Missouri governor and corps of discovery expedition leader, William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame. He was named after his father's friend and associate, Meriwether Lewis. In 1826, he accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy and graduated 23rd of 42 cadets in the Class of 1830. He was brevetted as a second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Infantry and assigned to Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. He served as an officer and mapmaker in the Black Hawk War before resigning from the army in 1833.
While on assignment in Louisville, Kentucky, Clark met and courted Abigail Prather Churchill, of the prominent Churchill family. They married in January 1834 and raised seven children before her death in 1852. Their son, Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., would become a prominent member of Louisville society, promoting horseracing and building, with help from his Churchill relations, the famous racetrack Churchill Downs.
As a designer-architect, M. L. Clark contributed to the early architecture of St. Louis, including the design of St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church. In 1836, he was elected to the Missouri General Assembly. Four years later, he was named as the city engineer of St. Louis and later was the recorder of the city court.
During the Mexican War in 1846, Clark resumed his military career as a major in the Missouri volunteers, serving as the commander of an artillery battalion. He participated in the battle of Sacramento near Chihuahua city under Colonel Alexander Doniphan on February 28, 1847.
After the Mexican-American War, Clark returned to St. Louis and was the Federal surveyor-general for Missouri and Illinois until 1853.
Read more about this topic: Meriwether Lewis Clark, Sr.
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