At first there were only sixteen of them, since Ethan Pratt and a few others would not have been welcome, and Clarke preferred to include men who lived within a few miles of his fort. From the beginning he divided them into two equal groups, requiring that they compete with one another in marksmanship and in simulated battle.

Without consulting anyone in advance, Clarke had announced at the first meeting, “I’ll be figurin’ out some plans on how we can work and fight together, somethin’ like we had at Big Elk’s camp. Aaron Hart and Micajah Williamson will be my permanent lieutenants, each one in charge of half the men.” Without any orders or even unofficial directions, all the men began addressing Elijah as “Captain Clarke,” and in almost every way this set him apart from the others, even from those close friends and neighbors who had spent their lives together with him. In the same subtle way, it was assumed that Hart was Clarke’s aide-de-camp. In addition to delivering orders from the captain, Aaron had another important role: to accommodate and conceal as much as possible the fact that Clarke was illiterate. With some difficulty he could sign his name, but it was Aaron’s duty to read news reports to his commander and to prepare written orders and even private messages, when needed, to his wife, Hannah. This was not a secret that was well kept, but it was one not discussed by any of those who served with the militia.

Like a blind man who develops other senses more acutely, Elijah Clarke was endowed with the extraordinary ability to assess a complicated situation and devise almost instantaneously the best means to take advantage of it. He was a stern commander but a fair one and was exceptionally sensitive to the needs of the militiamen’s families. As his surrogate back home, Hannah considered it her duty to take care of the other wives and their children.