Newman S. Clarke was a career military officer in the United States Army who served with distinction during the Mexican–American War of 1846-1848.
He was therefore not present at the bloody battle of Molino del Rey in which Colonel McIntosh was killed at the head of the brigade.
Gen. Clarke returned to command in time for the assaults on Chapultepec and pivotal Battle of Mexico City itself.
Clarke inherited the task of dealing with the ongoing Yakima War with local native Indians, which had begun in 1855.
Wright defeated the Indians at the Battle of Four Lakes, but General Clarke continued to keep white settlers out.