William Clark Officially Made Captain

William Clark was not actually a Captain in the Corps of Discovery, at least in the eyes of the U.S. Army. While Meriwether Lewis had requested that Clark be reinstated in the military in 1803 as a Captain, his request wasn’t granted and Clark was officially commissioned as a Lieutenant.

Until November 13, 2000.

Public Law 106-507 of the 106^th Congress changed all that, and William Clark, co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was posthumously promoted to grade of Captain in the Regular Army.

He would later, in 1807, be appointed as Brigadier General of the Militia of Upper Louisiana Territory.