Yesterday I had the honor of attending a ceremony to honor my gggg grandfather Benjamin Clark who is buried in the Clarksville Cemetery. The following is the article which appeared in The Paris News to tell of the ceremony. The Paris News http://www.theparisnews.com Copyright © 2003 The Paris News Clarksville Revolutionary War hero honored By John Henderson The Paris News Published May 25, 2003 CLARKSVILLE - Benjamin Clark's grave in Clarksville Cemetery now has a bronze Maltese cross with the emblem of the Sons of the American Revolution. Clark, who died in 1838, was formally recognized by the group as an American Revolutionary War veteran Saturday. He died just five years after his son, James Clark, founded Clarksville in Red River County, and a year after it was incorporated as a city under the Republic of Texas. Mike Everheart, president of the Tyler chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, said the dedication was part of the society's mission to recognize veterans. "It's so amazing to be standing over the grave of an American Revolutionary War soldier," Everheart said. "We're so far from the actual wars that were fought." Of the 50 veterans of the American Revolutionary War believed to have died and be buried in Texas, only 19 of them have grave markers in recognizable condition, Everheart said. Benjamin Clark's gravestone was replaced in the 1930s, said his descendant Jim Clark, a director of the Red River County Historical Society, and the sixth descendant of Benjamin Clark to be named James or Jim. That was around the time Benjamin Clark's son James, who was a Texas Revolutionary War veteran and is buried beside his father, had his gravestone replaced by the Texas Historical Commission. James Clark's son, also named James, was a captain in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and is buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Clarksville. Jim Clark said it's unusual that three generations of the same family that fought in those three wars would be buried in the same city. Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution members led pledges to the American and Texas flags, unveiled the cross marker and put a wreath on display above Clark's grave. Tom Clark, Jim Clark's cousin from Tulsa, Okla., read a biography of his ancestor. Benjamin Clark was born in 1758 in North Carolina, where he fought as part of the local militia in the battle of Cape Fear River and rose to the rank of quartermaster sergeant. He later moved his family to Tennessee, Kentucky, and then to Arkansas, where he founded one of the first settlements in the territory. He later moved to Clarksville, which his son established. Father and son died within a few months of each other, and were buried side-by-side in Clarksville Cemetery. Jeff Dunn of Dallas, whose wife, Lea, is a great-great-great-granddaughter of Benjamin Clark, said at the time Clark came to the area, Red River County was in dispute between the Mexican and American governments. It wasn't until after the war for Texas' independence, from 1835 to 1836, that Texas was declared an independent republic. Everheart said the standard design for the grave markers has the cross emblem screwed onto a stake which is driven into the ground. To deter defacement of Clark's grave, he had the emblem inlaid in granite, he said.