CLARK, William (1770-1838), soldier, explorer. Document signed ("Wm. Clark"), a receipt, Greenville, 29 May 1794. 1 page, oblong.

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CLARK, William (1770-1838), soldier, explorer. Document signed ("Wm. Clark"), a receipt, Greenville, 29 May 1794. 1 page, oblong.

AN EARLY WILLIAM CLARK DOCUMENT, SIGNED TEN YEARS BEFORE THE LEWIS & CLARK EXPEDITION. A decade before his famous transcontinental expedition with Merriweather Lewis, William Clark here signs a receipt for a pint of whiskey delivered to the Chickasaw Indians. The note reads: "I'm pleased to deliver for the use of the Chickasaw Indians one pint of Whiskey." Clark served as liaison to the Chickasaws for General Anthony Wayne, who was leading a contingent of U.S. troops fighting in the Northwest Territory. Greenville refers to Fort Greenville, about 100 miles north of present-day Cincinnati. A few months after this document was signed (on 10 August 1794) General Wayne won a decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, near present-day Toledo, and the following year concluded the Treaty of Greenville, opening up the Northwest to settlers.

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