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 Ben H. Clark - Fort Reno Post Cemetery - El Reno, OK Posted by:  Max and 99
N 35° 33.809 W 098° 02.852
14S E 586315 N 3935951
Final resting place of Cavalry Scout and Interpreter Ben H. Clark, who was assigned to assist Lt. Col. Custer in the Civil War.
Waymark Code: WMGMYY
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 03/22/2013
Views: 5
All visitors to Fort Reno need to check in at the Visitor's Center/Museum to get a pass and information on which areas are open to the public. There is no fee to enter this historic area. Signs from Rt. 66/Business 40 clearly indicate directions to the Visitor's Center building.
The final resting place of Ben H. Clark is just inside the entrance gate of Fort Reno's Post Cemetery. His is an upright marker about 5 ft. high.
Text on his marker:
Ben H. Clark
Died
July 24, 1914
Age 72 Yrs.
Description:
To many Indian Wars historians, cavalry scout Ben Clark is the most notable burial in the post cemetery. Clark (1842-1914) traveled or was dispatched to lead groups throughout the Great Plains to several forts. In the Civil War he was with the 6th Kansas Cavalry. In 1868 he was assigned to Lt. Col. George Custer's 7th Cavalry at Camp Supply (Fort Supply in present NW Oklahoma) as Chief of Scouts, and led the 7th Cav south to the Washita River where they attacked the winter camp of Cheyenne "Peace Chief" Black Kettle in the controversial "Battle of the Washita" on November 27. Clark was said to have defied Custer twice Re: complaining that troops & Osage scouts were shooting at women & children; and advocated an exit plan when the campaign was threatened by warriors from other camps.
Clark came to Fort Reno from Fort Supply in January of 1878 as "Post Interpreter", to the Cheyennes, at $100 a month. He had married into the Cheyenne tribe. He, his third wife Moka (Mo-kaaay) and five of their eleven children are in the post cemetery.
In 1888, Clark welcomed and hosted famous New York artist Frederic Remington who produced several drawings and paintings inspired by his 3 months at Fort Reno. Clark was also called "Chief of Scouts" and led officers and other dignitaries on hunting trips. The Clarks lived in a log house, then moved into the remodeled one-room 1878 school/chapel (Bldg.10, to be restored). In 1908 Clark was placed in temporary charge of the post during the transition from a garrisioned fort to a Quartermaster Remount Station. Clark wrote over 400 pages of "Ethnography and Philology of the Cheyenne", mostly dictionary, which is at the Autry National Center museum in Los Angeles, CA.
(source: Historic Fort Reno website)
Date of birth: 01/01/1842
Date of death: 07/24/1914
Area of notoriety: Historical Figure
Marker Type: Monument
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
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