History failed Lig J. Clark, but a group of Temple citizens have worked to right some of the wrongs.
Clark, who died on April 21, 1902, was laid to rest at a slender strip of land now called Seven Star Cemetery. Because of the past century of neglect, his story is all but forgotten. February is designated as Black History Month, a time to recognize significant contributions of African Americans.
For now, only Clark's 7-foot monument hints at his story in stony silence broken only by train whistles and car horns. His was among the seven dozen stones righted, cleaned and documented as part of the Juneteenth Association's clearing of Seven Star Cemetery. Standing at the cemetery's edge, nearly to 14th Street, the column marker proudly bears his rank and service record in the Spanish-American War and a poignant epitaph:
A son devoted and true
A soldier dutiful and brave
There adorned in the blue
A mother's jewel in the grave.
He is just one of several veterans from the late 10th and early 20th centuries who are buried at Seven Star Cemetery at the corner of North 14th Street and East Shell. Some have VA-issue markers; many more graves remain unmarked.
Clark was a role model for other young African Americans men who opted for military service. Robert E.Lee Holland, M.D., a Temple African-American physician, reported his death to the editor of the Indianapolis Freeman in September 1902. ``All Temple was proud of Lig J. Clark,'' Dr. Holland wrote, ``and now mourn his death with a sorrow second to only to that of his loving mother and two sisters who survive him. His discharge spoke of him as `an excellent noncommissioned officer'; we say, `excellent son and citizen.'''
Although he is too young to have fought in the Indian conflicts, Clark is a documented ``Buffalo Soldier,'' an African American Texan who served with gallantry in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War with the 24th Infantry. The 24th was one of the two all-black infantry regiments serving at Fort Davis, in far West Texas between Midland and El Paso.
The ``Buffalo Soldier'' nickname actually came from soldiers a generation older. In 1866 and 1867, soon after the Civil War, Congress organized the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments for western duty against the Indian Nations. Soon, native tribes noticed the soldiers' superior fighting abilities. They nicknamed them ``Buffalo Soldiers" because of the soldiers' strength and courage they displayed during battle. The name stuck, even after the Indian Wars.
Like their successors in later conflicts, Buffalo soldiers were often detailed in routine chores such as cooks, carpenters, laborers, masons and scouts. They overcame intolerance to compile outstanding service records. They also patrolled the frontier, built roads, escorted mail parties and handled a variety of difficult civil and military tasks. Despite the prejudices within the army and the nearby civilian communities, black regiments had excellent morale and esprit de corps.
Born in Brownwood in 1878, Clark was the youngest child of Missouri Clark Thomas, a laundress. He no doubt found the military a satisfying career at a time when many assumed African-Americans would be unfit for service. He enlisted in U.S. Army in Dallas on June 10, 1898, and was assigned to Company H, 24th Infantry. At first he was stationed in Tampa, Fla, during the Cuban campaign, mustered out and then reenlisted. He sailed to the Philippines in July 1898. At that time, the Army described him as ``character excellent'' with $50 in savings and $2.71 in clothing.
The 24th deployed to Cuba as part of the U.S. Expeditionary Force in the Spanish-American War. At the climactic battle of San Juan Hill, the 24th Infantry assaulted and seized the Spanish-held blockhouse and trench system on the hill. In 1899 the Regiment deployed to the Philippine Islands to help suppress a guerilla movement in the Philippine-American War.
Because of his heroic service, he was promoted to corporal on July 14, 1900. He was discharged on January 18, 1902, probably suffering from typhoid that he contracted in service.
The Army sent him home without fanfare to live with his mother and sisters in Temple. He received an Army certificate of merit on March 10, 1902, and died the next month. His passing touched many who had been proud of his accomplishments, despite the overwhelming odds.
Later on, his mother and sister were buried next to him at Seven Star Cemetery.
