Clarkson F. Fogg was born around 1840 in Ohio to Thomas and Mary Fogg. His father was a farmer and veteran of the War of 1812 who owned $2,000 of real estate and $500 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in Salem, Ohio.
He enlisted in the Union army on July 22, 1861, and he mustered in as a corporal in Company E of the 4th West Virginia Infantry. The regiment took part in the siege of Vicksburg, and he died near Vicksburg, Mississippi, on May 19, 1863.