Marcellus Jerome Clarke

Marcellus Jerome Clarke
Marcellus Jerome Clarke as a Confederate soldier
Nickname(s)	Sue Mundy/Sue Munday
Born	1844 Franklin, Kentucky
Died	March 15, 1865 Louisville, Kentucky
Allegiance	United States of America Confederate States of America
Service/branch	Confederate Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Captain
Unit	Company B, 4th Kentucky Infantry 1st Kentucky "Orphan" Brigade

Marcellus Jerome Clarke (also called M. Jerome Clarke) (1844 – March 15, 1865) was a Confederate captain who in 1864 became one of Kentucky's most famous guerrillas. He was rumored to be "Sue Mundy", a character publicized by George Prentice, editor of the Louisville Journal.

Marcellus Jerome Clarke was born in Franklin, Kentucky in 1844. At age 17 in 1861 he enlisted as M. Jerome Clarke in the 4th Kentucky Infantry, 1st Kentucky "Orphan" Brigade, Confederate States Army (CSA). While with the 4th Kentucky Clarke was captured at Fort Donelson and later escaped from Camp Morgan. He saw action with the 4th Kentucky at the Battle of Chickamauga.

Clarke was reassigned to Morgan's Men, the unit headed by Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan. By then Clarke was a captain. While with Morgan's Men, he took part in Morgan's last raid through Kentucky in the summer of 1864.

Following Morgan's death on September 4, 1864, Clarke formed his own guerrilla band and returned to Kentucky in October. He raided throughout the state, killing Union soldiers and destroying supplies. His raids seemed to inspire the Louisville Journal's stories of the infamous "Sue Mundy", and caused Maj. Gen. Stephen G. Burbridge, military governor of Kentucky, substantial embarrassment. Combined with the fact that Clarke's gang (referred to by the Journal as "Mundy's Gang") had joined with William Quantrill's Raiders, Clarke was seen as a dangerous enemy of the Union. On the night of February 2, 1865, this joint force of Quantrill and Clarke rode into Lair Station, Kentucky and burned the railroad depot and freight cars. A week later on February 8, 1865, the guerrillas killed three soldiers, took four more prisoner and destroyed the remnants of a wagon train.