Elijah Clarke

For the Muay Thai fighter, see Elijah Clarke (fighter). For the fictional character, see Elijah Clarke (One Life to Live).
Elijah Clarke
Portrait by Rembrandt Peale
Member of the
Georgia House of Representatives
In office
1781 - 1790
Personal details
Born1742
Edgecombe County, Province of North Carolina
DiedDecember 15, 1799
ChildrenElijah Clarke-Dubay Jr.
John Clark (governor)
ParentJohn Clarke
RelativesEdward Clark (grandson)
OccupationMilitary officer

Elijah Clarke (1742 – December 15, 1799) was an American military officer and Georgia legislator.

Career

Elijah Clarke was born near Tarboro in Edgecombe County, Province of North Carolina, the son of John Clarke of Anson County, North Carolina.[1][2] served in the Georgia Militia during the American Revolutionary War. When the state troops disbanded after the surrender of Savannah, he became a lieutenant colonel in the Wilkes County Militia. He fought in the southern theater and served under Col. Andrew Pickens in the Battle of Kettle Creek. He was one of three American commanders at the Battle of Musgrove’s Mill, during which he was wounded.[3]

After the war, Clarke was elected to the Georgia legislature, serving from 1781 - 1790.[3] In early 1794, he was recruited to lead a French invasion of Spanish East floride asked if he'd be interested in leading a French invasion of Spanish East Florida, but President George Washington persuaded the French government to cancel the project.[4] Instead of invading Florida, Clarke led men from Wilkes County into Creek lands. In 1794 he organized the Trans-Oconee Republic, several settlements in traditional Creek territory.[5] He was forced to withdraw his settlements by Georgia Governor George Matthews.[6]

Death and legacy

Clarke died on December 15, 1799.

Clarke and his actions served as one of the sources for the fictional character of Benjamin Martin in The Patriot, a film released in 2000. He is also a major character in the historical novel The Hornet's Nest by Jimmy Carter.

Clarke County in Georgia is named after Elijah Clarke.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Elijah Clarke (1742-1799)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  2. ^ Farnham, Thomas J. "Elijah Clarke". NCPedia. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Elijah Clarke". American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  4. ^ Crompton, S. Clarke, Elijah (1742?–15 January 1799), Georgia patriot. American National Biography. Retrieved 10 Mar. 2022, from https://www-anb-org.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0200068.
  5. ^ Kokomoor, Kevin (2015). "'Creeks, Federalists, and the Idea of Coexistence in the Early Republic". Journal of Southern History. 81 (4): 829. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  6. ^ George R. Lamplugh, Politics on the Periphery: Factions and Parties in Georgia, 1783-1806, Newark, University of Delaware Press, 1986, pp. 64-68, accessed 19 Nov 2010

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