D..."I will let the guy know".......
Let Sleeping dogs lie.........
Not you Will...............Atten...Tion .......!!
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2000
Explorer Is Promoted -- Two Centuries Late
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly 200 years after their great
expedition of discovery of the American West, the House of
Representatives voted to promote William Clark to captain, the
rank held by his colleague, Meriwether Lewis.
Despite promises made by President Thomas Jefferson that
Clark would be commissioned as a captain, he remained a
lieutenant, although considered co-commander of the expedition,
for which he also kept a journal and made the maps.
With the approaching bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark
expedition, which began in May 1804, the bill's sponsor said it
was time to follow through on the captaincy.
``Despite the clearly stated intentions (of) President
Jefferson and Lewis, a number of actions denied Clark his
rightful rank,'' said Rep. Doug Bereuter, a Nebraska Republican
who is co-chairman of the House Lewis and Clark Bicentennial
Congressional Caucus.
``Clark served his country admirably and emerged, along with
Lewis, as a true American hero for all time,'' Bereuter pointed
out Tuesday.
After the epic expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific
coast ended in 1806, Clark went on to be a brigadier general in
the militia, superintendent of Indian affairs and governor of
the Missouri Territory. He died in 1838 at the age of 68.
The bill posthumously promotes Clark to the grade of
captain in the Regular Army -- and specifies that ``no person is
entitled to any bonus, gratuity, pay or allowance'' as a
result.
The Senate has to act on the measure and President Clinton
has to sign it for the promotion to take effect. |
