Clark went to school in England, where he learned to be a watchmaker, He practiced this trade in Boston until 1769 where he settled to Cape Fear to take care of the estate of his uncle, James Murray.
He participated and subsequently wounded in the Battle of Alamance, which was a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over issues of taxation and local control.
Elevated in rank to colonel of the 1st North Carolina Regiment on 5 February 1777, he led the unit at Brandywine and Germantown in the late summer and fall of 1777.
[1][2] Clark was present at Barren Hill and commanded the North Carolina Brigade at the Battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778.
Plagued by ill health, he became blind and remained an invalid until he died at Point Repose Plantation, which he had acquired from his uncle James Murray.