Introduction
Of all the numerous monuments to the Civil War, only few memorialize the actual soldiers who fought in the battle. One of those is to the 83rd regiment Pennsylvania, and one soldier’s name on that statue is of Henry Clark. While Clark didn’t receive visible wounds at Gettysburg, the war profoundly shaped the rest of his life. With resources limited to his war records and his pension files, we’ve created this site to acknowledge that many times a soldier’s fight extends far beyond the battlefield, even when hostilities have long since concluded.
Henry Clay Clark was born in 1843 in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Available records reveal little to no information about his life before the Civil War.
On September 13, 1861, Henry Clark enlisted in Pennsylvania’s 83rd regiment. Throughout the Civil War, The 83rd suffered heavy casualties as 282 soldiers were killed. Only New Hampshire’s 5th regiment lost more soldiers during the conflict between the States. During his service he fought in many engagements, including the well-known conflict at Gettysburg, PA.
Like many soldiers, Mr. Clark suffered various maladies during his service. These illnesses impelled him to various army hospitals, such as Bleinheim. Mr. Clark’s time in battle was interrupted when he was captured by the Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of the Wilderness. Shortly thereafter, he was confined to the infamous prison, Andersonville. After nearly a year as a prisoner of war, he escaped from a prisoner of war camp in North Carolina.
After the war, Henry Clark married and fathered a daughter. He eventually moved to Colorado to pursue business interests in the mining industry. Henry Clark died on November 25, 1915 in Pueblo, Colorado.