One of the last regiments to be raised from Onondaga County was the 185th New York Infantry, being organized at Syracuse, New York in late September 1864. One of the men commissioned to be the 1st Lieutenant in the Company G, 185th New York was Hiram Clark. He was 26 years old when he enlisted on September 2nd, 1864 at Marathon, and mustered into his company on December 12th. Hiram served faithfully with the 185th New York through the final days of the  Siege of Petersburg, the regiment being assigned to the brigade commanded by none other than Brigadier General Joshua Chamberlain belonging to the V (Fifth) Corps of the Army of the Potomac. The 185th New York was heavily engaged at Lewis Farm, White Oak Road, and Five Forks during the beginning of the Appomattox Campaign. At Lewis Farm alone, the regiment lost 55 men killed and 148 wounded.

While Hiram and the 185th New York chased after Lee’s retreating Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, they finally caught up with Lee six days following the fall of Richmond. As Chamberlain’s Brigade approached Appomattox Court House on April 9th, 1865, Hiram led the 185th New York’s skirmishers as they deployed in front of the regiment and began to push towards Lee’s army from the south. As they advanced, some of the last shots were fired in their direction as the assault by Confederate General John Gordon’s II Corps had been beaten back. A Confederate battery of the Richmond Howitzers near George Peers’ house fired some of these last shots of the engagement that morning, targeting the 185th New York, just over 300 yards away. It was these final shots that snuffed out the life of Lieutenant Hiram Clark as the white flags of truce were being waved for a cease fire. A soldier in his regiment wrote Hiram was, “killed instantly, the shell passing through his body and afterwards taking off a foot of a member of the 198th Pennsylvania,” and he was “an excellent officer, a perfect gentleman, highly respected by all who knew him, not only for his soldierly qualities but his genial spirit, never dampened — and his kindness to and care for those under his immediate command.” General Chamberlain also shared his sadness at Hiram’s death, stating “Not a strange thing for war, this swift stroke of the mortal; but coming after the truce was in, it seemed a cruel fate for one so deserving to share his country’s joy, and a sad peace-offering for us all.”

Hiram was the only casualty in the 185th New York at the Battle of Appomattox Court House on April 9th, 1865. He was initially buried by his comrades under a large cherry tree in the area, but he was soon reinterred at Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Dinwiddie County, Virginia. Hiram unfortunately would have the tragic fate of being one of the last casualties in Virginia as a result of the Appomattox Campaign. He would not know about the surrender that transpired just a couple hours after his death, nor see his regiment and army victorious. However, it was his sacrifice that greatly contributed to the end of the war in Virginia.