Elijah Clarke

Elijah Clarke (1742 – December 5 1799), born in Anson County, North Carolina, was a Georgian hero of the American Revolutionary War.

Clarke moved from North Carolina to Wilkes County, Georgia, in 1774 where he joined the patriot militia. During the war, he served under Andrew Pickens and alongside John Dooly in various skirmishes including the battles of Alligator Bridge and Kettle Creek.

In September 1780, Clarke led an army in an unsuccessful attempt to reclaim Augusta, Georgia from the British. He would later succeed in taking the city with Andrew Pickens in a two-month siege beginning in April 1781.

After the war, Clarke served in the Georgia General Assembly from 1781 to 1790. After his service in the state legislature, he involved himself in somewhat dubious enterprises. In 1793, with the encouragement of French ambassabor Edmond-Charles Genêt, Clarke entered the French army as a major general and participated in designs against the Spanish in Florida. The Spanish, at that time, were allies of the British. The following year, he established the Trans-Oconee Republic, which included settlements in Creek territory in present day Greene, Morgan, Putnam and Baldwin counties. From his new settlements, he led a number of campaigns against the Creek Indians. The State of Georgia ordered Clarke to dismantle his settlements, but he refused. Governor George Mathews, disturbed that Clarke was attempting to create an independent government, ordered the settlements broken up. The Georgia militia accomplished this without violence and Clarke surrendered. Clarke was also alleged to have participated in the Yazoo Land Fraud and Governor Mathews was also involved in the scandal. In spite of his somewhat scandalous, post-revolution activities, Clarke continued to be held in high esteem by the public. He died in Augusta in 1799.

Clarke's son John Clark served as governor of Georgia from 1819 to 1823. Clarke County, Georgia is named in honor of Elijah Clarke.

Clarke and his actions served as one of the sources for the fictional character of Benjamin Martin in The Patriot, a motion picture released in 2000.

References

* [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-668 Elijah Clarke] in the New Georgia Encyclopedia.