ved briefly aboard the monitor USS MAHOPAC.
A big change occurred in the lives of Charles and Louisa Clark in 1874. Charles was ordered to the Asiatic Squadron. He took his family - he now had two daughters - along with him to the far east. The Clark family lived in Nagasaki, Japan, while the lieutenant commander took his place as executive officer aboard the USS YANTIC. This duty was followed by service aboard the USS MONOCACY, a river gunboat which served in various ports and rivers of the far east. Clark found himself on the Yangtze River.
About 1879, the Clarks returned to the United States, with Charles receiving a billet close to home at the Boston Navy Yard. In August of 1881, he was assigned to the USS NEW HAMPSHIRE, an old ship of the line, now serving as a training vessel. In November of the same year, he was placed in command of the vessel, and given the rank of commander.
After serving aboard the USS RANGER on survey duty off the coast of Mexico and Central America from 1883 to 1886, Clark spent the next five years on shore duty, spending much time as a lighthouse inspector on the Great Lakes.
In 1894, Commander Clark was given command of the USS MOHICAN, a steam sloop of war. From this vessel, he commanded the ten vessels comprising the Bering Sea Patrol which enforced the regulations governing sealing operations. Clark performed excellent and efficient service, and was appointed captain in 1896.
Later, Clark was placed in charge of the USS INDEPENDENCE, an old ship of the line which served as a receiving ship at Mare Island, California. However, as tensions with Spain rose, Captain Clark found himself in command of the monitor MONTERREY.
On March 15, 1898, Clark had a rendezvous with destiny. He was detached from the MONTERREY to take command of the battleship USS OREGON. The ship was to steam for Peru in two days, and its commanding officer, Captain Alexander McCormick, had fallen seriously ill.
Clark's task was daunting. The OREGON, one of the new U.S. battleships was needed on the east coast if war broke out with Spain. There was no Panama Canal yet, so the quickest route was a 14,500 mile journey down the west coast of north, central and south America, through the stormy, dangerous, wreck-strewn Strait of Magellan, and up the east coast of the same continents. For large portions of the cruise, the vessel would be out of touch with Washington, unaware if a state of war existed with Spain, and if Spanish vessels were on the prowl, looking for the OREGON.
Captain Clark launched himself into the task. In the 48 hours before sailing, he had 1,600 tons of coal loaded, and enough stores for six months at sea. He and the OREGON left San Francisco on March 19, 1898, with a crew that was short 94 men, including 27 critical men from the boiler room/coaling force.
During the cruise, the vessel averaged 11.5 knots, a great feat for its day. She completed the voyage in sixty-six days. The American public got news of the dramatic event through the newspapers and followed the unfolding dash with increasing relish and excitement, making the cruise one of the most highly publicized events of the war.
While the OREGON was en route, war was declared with Spain, and the Spanish reputedly had vessels out searching for her. Clark relied on ruses, and skillful planning to avoid dangers, while, at the same time, determining how the OREGON would engage the Spanish fleet, if encountered, in a way that would allow a chance for success. The Naval War Board, of which Clark's old professor, naval theorist Alfred Mahan was a member, managed to catch up with Clark and the OREGON and began making suggestions on his course of action. He telegraphed back "Don't hamper me with instructions. I am not afraid, with this ship, of the whole of the Spanish Fleet."
Clark, with the OREGON, arrived off Key West on the morning of May 26. More amazing than even just completing the journey, Clark had his vessel in fighting trim and ready to immediately go into action, a possibility not even dreamed of after such an arduous journey.
Clark's OREGON beca