Civil War Union Army Officer. A pre-war lawyer from Marietta, Ohio, when the Civil War started he offered his services, and was commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel of the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on July 30, 1861. When the regiment commander, Colonel George Crook, was promoted to Brigadier General, Melvin Clarke was promoted to Colonel on September 7, 1862. Ten days later, at the September 17, 1862 Battle of Antietam, he led his men as the participated in the Union assault and capture of Burnside's Bridge and the heights around it. Soon after his men crossed the bridge, Colonel Clarke was killed by an artillery round that nearly severed him in half. Today a monument to the 38th Ohio stands at the Antietam National Battlefield where Colonel Clarke was killed.
Civil War Union Army Officer. A pre-war lawyer from Marietta, Ohio, when the Civil War started he offered his services, and was commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel of the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on July 30, 1861. When the regiment commander, Colonel George Crook, was promoted to Brigadier General, Melvin Clarke was promoted to Colonel on September 7, 1862. Ten days later, at the September 17, 1862 Battle of Antietam, he led his men as the participated in the Union assault and capture of Burnside's Bridge and the heights around it. Soon after his men crossed the bridge, Colonel Clarke was killed by an artillery round that nearly severed him in half. Today a monument to the 38th Ohio stands at the Antietam National Battlefield where Colonel Clarke was killed.
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36th O. V. I. Killed at Antietam
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