IR July 30, 1863 – MURDER OF DR. CLARK.
A letter from Simon Parker of Greasy Ridge to his brother, Thomas H. Parker, of this place, gives the following additional particulars of the outrages committed by Morgan’s cutthroats in Lawrence county, including the murder of Dr. Clark.
Greasy Ridge, Tuesday Evening, July 21, 1863
Brother Thomas: As I write you, I am sitting up, watching the corpse of Dr. Clark, who was killed today by the rebels. We were waiting for the mail up at Greasy Ridge this morning on Greasy Ridge, and at about 12 o’clock, the alarm was given that 51 of Morgan’s men were coming.
Before we had time to get our guns, they were at the Post Office. They took one horse from W. W. Wiseman and one from Harvey Corn; and pressed Harvey Corn, Martin Brown, and Thomas Tagg into the ranks and told them that if they did not take them by the nearest road to the River, they would blow their brains out.
They went to the point above Millersport. Dr. Clark was the foremost man after them. He would ride up close to them and then come back and tell us which way they were going. He did this until they got within two miles of the river. It made the secesh so mad to see him so bold that two got off their horses, and the others led them ahead, and they hid in the bushes.
When Dr. Clark came along, they shot him, the ball going through the heart. We laid him out, and tomorrow we bury him here. We have taken all prisoners and sent them to Wheeling, except for a few who tried to swim the river. They killed seven or more on the other side. There was two hundred mounted infantry from Gallia county who took them. There was another man wounded and missing at the time Clark was killed.
Dr. Clark has proven himself to be as good and brave a Union man as there is in this township. I suppose there were at least two thousand men after the secesh. We still look for more but woe be unto them if they come here. We have to stand guard at night. The rebels took all the powder and lead our men had upon the Ridge and made them take the oath that they would not tell which way they went for 24 hours, but it did them no good. SIMON PARKER.
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