City Marshal William A. Clark

William A. Clark

City Marshal William Clark was shot and killed while confronting a man he observed carrying a pistol in violation of the city ordinance.

Marshal Clark confronted the man, who had the pistol in his hand, and demanded that he surrender the weapon. The man refused, cocked the pistol, and told Marshal Clark not to approach him. The man then crossed the street and the marshal followed. The subject then shot at Marshal Clark, the second shot striking him in the bowels. Both men then emptied their .44 caliber pistols at each other. The marshal started walking down the street and told the gathering crowd that he had been killed. The subject went to his father’s house, retrieved a shotgun, and came back searching for Marshal Clark. The man was arrested before he could shoot the marshal with the shotgun.

The subject was convicted of manslaughter in the death of Marshal Clark and sentenced to four years in prison. He appealed and the case was reversed due to a technicality. The state never established the date and time of the homicide or the county. The man was retried in June of 1885 and sentenced to two years in prison.

Marshal Clark died two days later, on Thursday, August 30th, 1883. He gave a dying declaration and said goodbye to his wife and friends before dying. He was survived by his wife and at least two children. He was buried in the Jacksonville City Cemetery, Cherokee County, Texas. He was a Confederate Army veteran.