Andrew J. Clark's military service

 Now that we know Andrew J. Clark was in Texas as early as May 1840, let's move to the question of his service in the Republic of Texas militia under General Tarrant.  In a Dallas Morning News interview in 1923 with W.S. Adair, Andrew's son, Henry Clay Clark, told the story of his father's participation in what is known as The Village Creek fight in 1841.  Clark's detailed description of the death of Captain John Denton (for whom both the city and county of Denton are named) fits other accounts very closely.  I recently came across a February 1859 Dallas newspaper article from the Dallas Herald that details the discovery of Captain Denton's remains which were later moved to the grounds of the Denton County courthouse.   The article specifically mentions A.J. Clark as a member of the original scouting party.  

By 1846 A.J. Clark was a member of the "minute men", a volunteer defense group that helped protect the Carrollton area from Indians.  Since he had served in General Tarrant's militia earlier, he would have been a valuable member.  Interesting to note this was around the time he transferred the title of his land in Lamar County.  A roster appears in the Elm Fork Echoes, Vol 31, May 2003.  That publication is the journal of The Peters Colony Historical Society.  A.J. Clark was probably one of the volunteers who pursued an Indian raiding party that attacked Farmers Branch in 1846 in a battle called the Grand Prairie fight.  That was one of the last major Indian raids in Dallas County.