Atherton W. Clark 1826-1882

Atherton W. Clark was born April 6, 1826 in Waldoboro, Maine, the fourth child of Joseph and Mary Clark. He had four sisters, Mary, Celeste, Ella and Caroline, and an older brother Joseph. Father had established himself in Waldoboro in 1823, and ran an extremely successful and innovative shipbuilding business, later called Jos. Clark & Son. In the mid-nineteenth century, Waldoboro was the second busiest shipbuilding center in New England, behind Boston, and in fact, one-tenth of all American shipping tonnage in 1839 was built in Waldoboro. The schooners and clipper ships that Jos. Clark built on the ways in the Medomak River brought fame and riches to the small town of 4500 inhabitants. In these days, a shipbuilder often retained ownership of the ships that he built, hence one might see Jos. Clark's occupation listed as merchant as well. In inimitable Maine fashion, a gentleman of Clark's status might also report to the census taker that he was a farmer, given the broad tracts of land held by the family, and the likely use of the land for household farming. A.W.Clark received an education in the local schools, and set up trade as a lumber merchant, participating indirectly in his father's business, by importing timber from upcountry Maine and transshipping surplus not used in the shipwright craft to the growing cities of Portland and Boston to the south. Older brother Joseph worked for the father, but evidence from the 1860 census, which lists A.W.Clark's net worth at over $2500, suggests that Clark was prosperous in his own right.

Being the scion of a successful father obviously gave A.W.Clark some advantages in society. Interestingly, he met Jefferson Davis at a local political meeting, when the then Senator from Mississippi visited Waldoboro in 1858. In the 1850's, Clark was elected Colonel of the local militia, the Conrad Guards, and as a young leader in the community, signed a petition of aid after a disastrous 1854 fire which left scores homeless and destroyed half the town. But Clark did more than just sign the petition; he and his new bride, Mary, took twenty-one fellow citizens in under their roof, and provided shelter and board until these families were reestablished. I imagine the Clark family motto to be. "We do what we must", and the 1854 fire incident to me demonstrates A.W.Clark's character. This would be reflected in his war record and post war life.

In 1862, when President Lincoln called for 300,000 more volunteers, the Town of Waldoboro determined to provide its quota. In August, a bounty of $100 paid out of town funds was voted. A.W. Clark, as Colonel of the militia, and with the support of his wealthy father, was in a position to lead the raising of 50 men. Supplemented by volunteers from the neighboring towns of Bristol and Union, this provided the basis for Company E of the newly formed 20th Regiment Maine Volunteers. Granted a commission as Captain by Governor Washburn of Maine, A.W.Clark led the band of volunteers up to Camp Mason near Portland, where they were mustered in on August 29, 1862. A.W.Clark left at home his wife Mary, son Walter, age 8, and daughter Annie, age 5.

Clark's record closely follows that of the 20th Maine from this point. With the regiment, he was held in reserve at Antietam, drilled long and hard by Col. Adelbert Ames, participated in the bloody repulse and rear guard action at Fredericksburg, and partook of the vaccine-induced smallpox epidemic at Chancellorsville. From here, Clark's star begins to rise. From the position of Company E in line of battle, we know that Clark was senior captain of the regiment. Note Clark's nickname, "Pap"; at 37, he was the oldest officer in the regiment, and certainly old enough to be the father of the youngest private in the 20th Maine. Upon the promotion of Lt. Col. Chamberlain to full Colonel on May 20, 1863, Clark and Ellis Spear of Company G were breveted as acting field officers, each commanding a wing - Spear the left, Clark the right. The 20th's Major, Chas. Gilmore, was absent in Washington, and Chamberlain did not immediately fill the lieutenant colonelcy. The 20th Maine then proceeded to Gettysburg, and was assigned to the extreme left of the Union line on Little Round Top in the afternoon of July 2. Clark's orders would have been to keep a tight hold on the 83rd Pennsylvania, next in line of battle to the right of the 20th's position. In describing the famous bayonet charge that ensued, Chamberlain writes in his first draft report, "the whole regiment described nearly a half circle, the left passing over the space of half a mile, while the right kept within support of the 83rd Penna. Thus leaving no chance of escape to the enemy..." In his second draft of a few days later, he writes, "holding fast by our right, and swinging forward our left, we made an extended 'right wheel', before which the enemy's line broke and fell back". Therefore, the scene in the motion picture "Gettysburg" when "Capt. Clark" runs up breathless and exclaims, "Richmond, by God, they're on to Richmond" is suspect, as Clark would not have run down the hill!

After Gettysburg, Chamberlain was packed off to the hospital to recuperate from malaria, and Clark, as senior captain, took command of the regiment, remaining in that position until Chamberlain's return after Beverly Ford in late August. At this time, Ellis Spear was promoted to Major and Chas. Gilmore to Lt. Colonel, leaving Clark as third in command of the regiment. I have puzzled over why Clark was passed over for promotion twice, noting that Walter Morrill of Company B was promoted Major ahead of Clark as well, and have corresponded with Thomas Dejardin, author of Stand Firm Ye Boys of Maine on this issue. There is a possibility that Clark actually committed an error on Little Round Top, at a point in the battle where Chamberlain considered moving part of his right wing over to reinforce his extended left. Suffice it to say, from my review of regimental correspondence, Clark was unwilling to play the game of politics needed to win speedy promotion in the war. I believe that his age, and his attitude probably suggested that he was there to get the job done and get home.

With the exigencies of personnel assignments, with Gilmore habitually absent from the field and with Spear going on and off Brigade and Division staff duty, Clark did command the regiment from time to time during late 1863 through 1864. It was in September 1864, at Peeble's Farm outside of Petersburg, that Clark first commanded the regiment in a major engagement. There he finally won his Brevet Major rank for gallantry. This was followed by a full promotion to Major in March of 1865 for gallantry before Petersburg. Of his colleagues in command of the 20th Maine, Chamberlain was mustered out a Major General, Spear a Colonel (Bvt. Brigadier General), Morrill a Lt. Colonel (Bvt. Colonel), and Clark a Major (Bvt. Lt. Colonel).

A.W.Clark returned to Waldoboro in July of 1865, and resumed his occupation. Of the fifty men from town who marched off with him in 1862, eleven returned with him, nine had died, and the rest had long since returned due to illness or wounds. Clark became a town selectman and town auditor. He left no apparent writings or made any significant speeches, unlike his colleagues Chamberlain and Spear who wrote and spoke at length. He died suddenly on April 13, 1882, one week after his fifty-sixth birthday, apparently having suffered from similar heart ailments that had claimed his brother prematurely. The town history describes his death as "a great loss to a community in which he was one of the younger leaders. [Clark was] a resourceful and civic-minded citizen...and the town's most distinguished soldier in the War between the States".

To me, Atherton W. Clark represents the majority of officers who served in the War of the Rebellion. Seeking neither fame nor fortune, he was there because there was a job to do. He believed in the Union, and thought that the War was just, even though he came from a largely Copperhead town, and had no vested interest in the survival or demise of the "peculiar institution". After the war, he literally disappeared into the fabric of society. Only the emergence of the current "Chamberlain cult" following the release of Ken Burns' Civil War documentary, the novel Killer Angels and the movie "Gettysburg", and the resurgent interest in the 20th Maine as a result, even brings Clark to our attention. I earnestly hope that my impression of A.W.Clark brings honor not only to him and his family, but to the thousands of loyal and noble officers who mustered in to "do what they must".

Sources:

Stand Firm Ye Boys of Maine, Thomas Dejardin
The Twentieth Maine, John Pullen
Army Life, Theodore Gerrish
A History of Old Broad Bay and Waldoboro, Jasper Stahl
Waldoboro, Maine, Samuel L. Miller
Regimental Correspondence and Morning Reports, Maine State Archives, Augusta, ME
1860 and 1880 Census Reports, Maine State Archives
Waldoboro Historical Society, Mrs. Beverly Slye
Waldoboro Public Library
Clark Home in Main Street, Waldoboro, now owned by Bennett and Leslie Blumenberg
Clark Family Mausoleum, Waldoboro Cemetary