Fleming Clay was born in Floyd County, Ky., about 1834. He married Emmariah Collinsworth, daughter of Moses Collinsworth and Margaret Ratliff, on the Brushy Fork of John's Creek in Pike Co., Ky., on June 28, 1859. Fleming lived in Floyd County in the 1860 census. He and Emmariah had two daughters: Nancy, born July 10, 1860, and Margaret, born March 11, 1862.

Fleming enlisted in Company G of the 39th Kentucky Mounted Infantry on November 15, 1862. He enlisted as a private, but was made a corporal shortly afterwards. While in Louisa, Ky., in the line of duty, Fleming contracted Typhoid Fever, and died in the hospital on May 28, 1863. Other soldiers had typhoid as well at the time. Fleming's wife, Emmariah, lived with her children in the household of her father, Moses Collinsworth, in Pike Co., Ky. Emmariah received a pension for Fleming's service.

The AG's Report confirms all of the above and adds that Corporal Clay enlisted for duty at Peach Orchard, in Lawrence Co., Ky. The same source also renders his name as "Flemmon" Clay.