He was a tough man. Years later, after severely burning his leg in an accident, Clark watched a parade of Kentucky militia out the window of the doctor’s office where he was undergoing an amputation.23 Listening to the martial music, he endured the brutal operation, reportedly turning to the doctor only afterward, asking, “Well, is it off?”24 Clark was the kind of man Jefferson needed: a bold commander who could execute the vision Jefferson formulated and fought for in the political world.
