28 Feb. 1766–12 Oct. 1832 John Clark, governor of Georgia, was
born in Edgecombe County . His father, General Elijah Clark ,
moved with his family from North Carolina to Wilkes, Ga., in
1773, but because there were no schools in Wilkes County , Clark
was sent back to North Carolina for schooling in Wake County .
He attended school until age fourteen, when he joined the army.
Clark served under his father in the Revolutionary War . He was
made lieutenant at age fifteen and was a captain at age sixteen.
Although just a boy, he did the service of the best soldier in
the company's campaigns; after the Revolution he received eight
hundred acres of land as his reward for "devotion to the cause
of liberty." His military career did not end with the
Revolutionary War. He was eager for military preferment. At age
twenty-one he was a major in the state militia and fought in the
Battle of Jack's Creek, named in his honor, against the Creek
Indians. Years later, in the War of 1812 , he was given command
of the forces assi