by Midnight Freemason Contributor
Steven L. Harrison, PM, FMLR

After his military service ended, Clark received 150,000
acres of land for his contribution to the war, but he struggled to maintain
it. Unsuccessful at this, he lost most
of the land and opened a small gristmill in Clarksville, Indiana, which
provided a moderate income. In 1805, he
was named to the board of directors of the Indiana Canal Company, whose mission
was to build a canal around the nearby Falls of the Ohio River. His good fortune at obtaining this position
didn't last long. Two of the other
directors, including Vice President Aaron Burr, illegally plotted to seize
Louisiana from Spain in order to open the Mississippi River to Americans. In the process, $2.5 million of the company's
money ($65 million in today's dollars) turned up missing. Clark was not involved. Burr and the other director, Davis Floyd,
were arrested for treason and the Indiana Canal Company folded.
A grisly incident in 1809 turned Clark into an invalid for
the remainder of his life. Age 57 at the
time, he suffered a stroke and fell into an open fireplace. He was unable to move and his leg burned so
badly it required removal. When his doctor performed the amputation, the only
"anesthetic" Clark received was music from a fife and drum corps
playing in the background.
Clark lived with the crippling effects of the stroke and
amputation until his death in 1818. Like
his famous brother William (of Lewis and Clark fame), George Rogers Clark was a
Freemason. Although his original Lodge
is unknown, Abraham Lodge #8, Louisville, conducted his Masonic funeral.
~SLH
Steve Harrison, 32° KCCH, is a Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is the editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine, author of the book Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi,
a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research and also its Senior Warden.
He is a dual member of Kearney Lodge #311, St. Joseph Missouri Valley
of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite, Moila Shrine and is a member of
the DeMolay Legion of Honor.
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