William Graham Clarke, Gun Corporal

An immigrant to the United States from Northern Ireland, Clarke served in the Ohio National Guard during the Spanish American War. William is memorialized by Allison Headlee, Janice Clark and Kenneth Clarke.

William Graham Clarke was born in August 1873 and immigrated with his family to the United States in 1885 from Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland.  He became a citizen of the United States of America on October 24 1894. 

During the War with Spain, William served in Battery “A” 1st Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery, Ohio National Guard.  He enlisted as a private on 20 April 1898 and was discharged on 30 August 1899.  His discharge papers state that he was 5 feet 8 ¾ inches with a fair complexion, grey eyes and brown hair.  

William reenlisted in the Ohio National Guard with the Cleveland Light Artillery, Light Battery “A” of Artillery on 18 October 1899.  He was appointed the rank of Wheelwright on March 14, 1900, Gun Corporal on December 4, 1901 and was honorably discharged on 11 June 1902.  His discharge papers indicate that he was 5 feet, 10½ inches at the time of his second discharge. 

William was a ‘speaker’ as those who could speak Gallic were called. As a civilian, he was a carpenter, the husband of Margaret Roy with whom he five children, and a member of the local Orangemen club. William died on 13 November 1951 and is buried in Twinsburg, Ohio. 

Book Dedicated: Inside the Spanish-American War: A History Based On First-Person Accounts, by James M. McCaffrey