Green Clay

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Green Clay (August 14, 1757 – October 31, 1828) was born in Virginia in Powhatan county.

When he was a young boy he moved to Kentucky and became a surveyor, a job that made him a fortune. He also became involved in politics while in Kentucky, first being elected Kentucky representative to the Virginia legislature. He was also speaker of the Senate.

During the War of 1812, he served as a General of Kentucky Militia. In 1813 he received orders to come to the aid of General William Henry Harrison who was besieged by the British at the Siege of Fort Meigs. Clay and most of his command were able to fight their way into the fort while the rest were ambushed and taken prisoner by Tecumseh after they had captured a British battery. After the British lifted the siege, Clay was left in command of the fort. He was still commanding the fort when the British returned in July, 1813. In a deceptive plan by Tecumseh to lure Clay and the garrison out of the fort, Tecumseh's warriors staged a mock battle, making it appear that they were ambushing a column of American reinforcements. Clay saw through this trick because he knew no reinforcements were coming, and was able to hold out until the British once again lifted the siege.

After the war, he retired to his plantation, Clermont, later named White Hall, and spent the rest of his life farming. He died in Kentucky in 1828. He was the father of Cassius Marcellus Clay and a cousin of Henry Clay.