Meriwether Lewis Clark , Sr . Meriwether Lewis Clark , Sr . ( January 10 , 1809 – October 28 , 1881 ) was an architect , civil engineer , politician , and a general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War . He first served in the Trans - Mississippi Theater as the initial commander of the Ninth Division of the Missouri State Guard and later commanded a brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E . Lee during the Siege of Petersburg and Richmond . Early life and career . Clark was born in St . Louis , Missouri , the son of Missouri governor and corps of discovery expedition leader , William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame . He was named after his father ' s friend and associate , Meriwether Lewis . In 1826 , he accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy and graduated 23rd of 42 cadets in the Class of 1830 . He was brevetted as a second lieutenant in the 6th U . S . Infantry and assigned to Jefferson Barracks in St . Louis . He served as an officer and mapmaker in the Black Hawk War before resigning from the army in 1833 . While on assignment in Louisville , Kentucky , Clark met and courted Abigail Prather Churchill , of the prominent Churchill family . They married in January 1834 and raised seven children before her death in 1852 . Their son , Meriwether Lewis Clark , Jr . , would become a prominent member of Louisville society , promoting horseracing and building , with help from his Churchill relations , the famous racetrack Churchill Downs . As a designer - architect , M . L . Clark contributed to the early architecture of St . Louis , including the design of St . Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church . In 1836 , he was elected to the Missouri General Assembly . Four years later , he was named as the city engineer of St . Louis and later was the recorder of the city court . During the Mexican War in 1846 , Clark resumed his military career as a major in the Missouri volunteers , serving as the commander of an artillery battalion . He participated in the battle of Sacramento near Chihuahua city under Colonel Alexander Doniphan on February 28 , 1847 . After the Mexican - American War , Clark returned to St . Louis and was the Federal surveyor - general for Missouri and Illinois until 1853 . Civil War service . In early 1861 , Clark , strongly pro - secessionist in his political views , was appointed by Governor Claiborne F . Jackson to organize recruits from the Ninth District of Missouri . He received an appointment as a brigadier general of the Ninth Division of the Missouri State Guard , but the unit was never formally organized during his tenure , partially because of the very strong pro - Union sentiment in St . Louis . Clark resigned from the Guard in November 1861 and was replaced by Daniel M . Frost . He then accepted a commission as a major of artillery in the Confederate Army . He was promoted to colonel and assigned to various staff positions before a disagreement with General Braxton Bragg led to his dismissal . He then was in charge of the Ordnance Department in Richmond , Virginia , until November 1864 when he assumed command of an infantry brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E . Lee . During the Appomattox Campaign , he was taken prisoner at the Battle of Sayler ' s Creek near Amelia Courthouse , Virginia , on April 5 , 1865 . Postbellum career . After the war , Clark moved to Louisville , Kentucky , and resumed his engineering career . He married Jula Davidson on December 30 , 1865 . He was the lead architect on the design and construction of several state buildings in Kentucky . He later was the commander of cadets at the Kentucky Military Institute . Clark died in Frankfort , Kentucky , in 1881 . He is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St . Louis , Missouri .