For the Last Time

George Rogers Clark was on the outskirts of Fort Vincennes which had been retaken by the British.  Reports came to him that the inhabitants would gladly return to American allegiance, so he wrote a letter to the town's inhabitants informing them of his position two miles outside of the town with his army and appealing to those who wanted liberty the Americans would give them.

Marching his men forward and making it appear that he had a much bigger army than he did by hiding in bushes and behind trees, he reached the stockade by nightfall and fired from two directions.  No one realized they were even there until a officer fell from his chair, shot in the chest.  The inhabitants had proven their loyalty, even providing ammunition when Clark's ran low.  In a few hours, it was over and there was little American loss. 

Colonel Hamilton and 25 of his men were sent as captives to Virginia, where Hamilton was in prison until 1780 when Washington paroled him.  For the second time, the American flag flew over Indiana soil, never to be lowered again.

Shortly after the surrender, Hamilton's reinforcement expedition was captured in route from Detroit and put 10,000 pounds of supplies in Clark's hands.  The missing ship The Willing appeared with a message from Governor Henry thanking Clark on behalf of the Virginia Legislature.  The whole of Illinois and Indiana was in American hands thanks to Clark.

Clark set about to organize a new expedition to Detroit which alone remained in British hands. Several obstacles stood in his way, among the most immediate were new Indian uprisings from the Great Lakes.  Clark was ordered to build a fort at the mouth of the Ohio.  Clark knew this would be a perfect place to launch a mission to Detroit from. 

Thomas Jefferson, the new Governor of Virginia in 1779, was also deeply interested in the Detroit project, and ordered guns, supplies and troops for Clark and appointed him Brigadier General in 1781.  However, suitable opportunity to capture Detroit never came for Clark, and when the Revolutionary War ended, Detroit was still in British hands.

In later years, George Rogers Clark was awarded 6000 acres of land in southern Indiana along the banks of the Ohio, and a sword.  Without employment and not feeling that his contribution to the war was honored, he lived a lonely and bitter life, dying in 1818.  He is buried in his beloved Kentucky, and a statue of him is in Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.

Next time...Spain's Role in the Revolutionary War
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On February 28, 1953, scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C> Crick announce that they have determined the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule containing the human genes.  DNA  - Deoxyribonucleic acid was discovered in 1869).

Not So Fast!

At the time that the British retook Vincennes, George Rogers Clark was not in much of a position to defend the other posts of Kaskaskia and Cahokia from being retaken as well.  The terms of the enlisted men had expired and they had gone back to Kentucky and Virginia.  Creoles had replaced them but their loyalty was doubtful.  The Indians were restless...

The British commander, Hamilton, knew all this was in his favor to recapture the Mississippi posts and remove all traces of American dominance west of the Alleghenies. He also knew that it was mid-winter and the British didn't fight in winter, so the mission was postponed until spring - a decision that proved to be the salvation of the American cause in the West.

Meantime Clark, at Kaskaskia, had little over 100 men, against Hamilton's 500-600 men.  During that winter Francis Vige, a Spanish trader, escaped from captivity in Vincennes and brought Clark welcome information that Hamilton had dismissed his troops until spring.  That give Clark an idea - attack the British before they expected it and were ready.  Clark knew it was do or die, and mid-winter would have to do.

A large flat-bottomed boat, the Willing, was fitted with four guns and sent down the Mississippi with just 40 men to rendezvous just past the Ohio and the Wabash near Vincennes.  The total distance was 230 miles which in normal circumstances was a 5-6 day trip, but in February, swollen streams and rivers, desolate windswept country and bitter conditions took 10 days to reach the forks of the Little Wabash.  Now reinforced with 140 men thanks to Father Gibault, Clark found that the whole enterprise might fail.  There were no boats, provisions were low, game was scarce, and it was too wet for camp fires to be lit for cooking. 

Instead of turning back, Clark bolstered his men by song and a show of bravery, tact and determination.  He won the recommitted admiration of his men and held them together.  Through freezing water, from one bit of dry land to the next, holding their rifles above their head for hours on end to keep them dry, they did not falter.  On February 23, across Horseshoe Plain in chest deep water, they came out two miles from Vincennes.  The men were so weakened they were dragging each other forward.  Their struggle against the elements was one of the most important in the Revolutionary War. 

Next time...Hello Redcoats!
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Today in Pioneer Pieces History:  "On February 25, 1848, Edward Harriman, the controversial savior of the transcontinental Union Pacific Railroad, is born in Hempstead, New York. The son of an Episcopal minister, Harriman disliked school and dropped out to become a broker’s boy when he was 14. In pursuit of efficiency and predictable profits, Harriman gradually gained control over many of the central western and southwestern lines in the United States.

Vincennes Changes Hands

After George Rogers Clark took possession of the Kaskaskia settlement and the American flag was raised, the British commander, Rocheblave (who was a Frenchman actually), wrote to General Carleton that the "self-styled Colonel Mr. Clark" had forced him to surrender the post.  Rocheblave was sent as a captive to Williamsburg but soon escaped.  His slaves, however, were sold for 500 pounds and the money distributed among Clark's men. 

The British post of Cahokia was taken next without resistance.  The French priest, Father Gibault, whose parish extended from Lake Superior to the Ohio, volunteered to go to Vincennes and win the inhabitants to the American cause.  After two days of persuasion, the entire settlement gathered in Father Gibault's church and took the oath of allegiance to America. 

Thus without firing a shot or shedding blood, the Illinois and Wabash territory was won for the future United States of America.  British sovereignty on the Mississippi never recovered and in 1778, Virginia took steps to organize the new country into the county of Illinois - which included "all territories lying on the western side of the Ohio."

Meanwhile back on the British side - Lt. Governor Hamilton decided that George Rogers Clark was just a "upstart Kentuckian" and the posts and Clark needed to be recaptured for the British.  He sent troops to the Wabash settlement (Vincennes) to stir up the Indians.  Back in Detroit, he prepared for war...and waited on reinforcements that never came.  Nevertheless, in October, a band of 35 British regulars, 45 local volunteers, 79 local militia and 60 Indians set out for Vincennes.  A blinding snowstorm near Lake Erie almost destroyed the mission but they reached the Maumee which was deep and difficult to travel.  Once they reached the Wabash they found such shallow water that they had to construct dikes to be able to maneuver the river.  If wasn't until a few days before Christmas that they finally reached Vincennes.

The capture of Vincennes was easy enough, the surrender all done in military style and the flag of King George once more flew over the settlement.  The inhabitants seemed used to the transfer of power and accepted the British as easy as they had the Americans, gathering once again in Father Gibault's church to pledge they had "sinned against God and man" by siding with the rebels and promised to be loyal to King George forevermore.

Next time....Clark defends the new territory
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Today in Pioneer History: "On February 21, 1828, the first printing press designed to use the new Cherokee alphabet invented by Sequoyah, arrives in New Echota, Georgia.  The Cherokee Nation had purchased the press with the goal of producing a Cherokee language newspaper. 

Clark's Orders

After petitioning the Virginia governor for aid for the wilderness settlements in Kentucky, George Rogers Clark got his orders from Congress and they were twofold:  one commissioned him to raise seven companies of 50 men each for militia duty in Kentucky, the other was a secret order to use this force in an expedition to capture the British post of Kaskaskia.

To meet the costs of these orders only 1200 pounds could be raised but the Governor did promise to try to secure 300 acres of land as a reward for each soldier.  Secrecy was paramount, even being kept from the Virginia Assembly.  Men and supplies were gathered at Fort Pitt and Wheeling to be carried down the Ohio to "the Falls" opposite St. Louis.  The 175 men were ready on June 24, 1778. 

There were many risks to the mission, one being superstition.  The men believed that an eclipse of the sun was an evil omen and threatened to turn back.  Clark believed none of this nonsense and commanded the men to move forward.  When they approached the Mississippi, it would have betrayed their object to be seen by the post's defenders, so Clark opted for an overland route. 

At the deserted Fort Massac, just below the mouth of the Tennessee River, the army left the Ohio and began a 120 mile trek through the tangled forests and prairies of Illinois.  Six days later they were three miles from Kaskaskia on the banks of the Kaskaskia River.  Moving by night, they crossed in boats, seized a farmhouse and arrived at the palisades undetected.  Half the army formed a barrier so that no one could escape, while the other half followed Clark into the settlement.

The story goes that there was a ball given that night which all of Kaskaskia's elite attended, as well as all those of the neighboring settlements.  Clark entered the ball room and stood in the doorway calmly watching the festivities.   A war cry went up when one of the Indian guests recognized Clark and disorder followed.  Clark got them calmed down and still standing proud, instructed the party goers to continue with their dancing, but no longer as subjects of King George, but of Virginia. 

The story is not actually supported by historians, but it was passed down through generations and makes a great tale!  In any case the settlement was taken and Clark's orders were carried out.

Next time:  the aftermath
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On February 18, 1885. Samuel Clemens publishes the controversial novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn under the pen name Mark Twain. 

George Rogers Clark

George Rogers Clark was a Virginian, born in the foothills of Albermarle County.  Although not of landed gentry, Clark did receive some education before becoming a surveyor.  At the age of 22 he became a staff of Governor Dunmore.  During an expedition to survey the new western territory, Clark visited the back country of Kentucky and was so taken by it, that in 1774, he decided to call it home.

A man of powerful form, keen blue eyes and the red hair of his Scottish ancestors, George was also a man of ardent patriotism, a strong common sense, and extraordinary leadership abilities.  So it was that he became a dominating person in the new territory beyond the mountains.

In the spring of 1755, the men of Kentucky held a convention at Harrodsburg to elect two delegates to petition the Virginia assembly about the trouble white settlements were facing with Indians.  Clark was chosen as one of those men.  After a long and arduous journey, the men found the assembly already adjourned.  During the visit, though, Clark found opportunity to explain to Patrick Henry the situation in the back country of Kentucky and obtain 500 pounds of gunpowder.  Clark's persuasion eventually led to Kentucky becoming a county of Virginia.

While the settlers were facing a hopeless situation against the Indians, ordered to attack the whites by the British, George Rogers Clark had a idea to capture the British posts and stop the orders to attack altogether.  Problem?  Kentucky had neither the men nor the money for such an undertaking...

In the spring of 1777, two hunters, disguised as traders were sent to Illinois country and neighboring Vincennes, to spy out the situation.  They reported back that the posts were not well-manned, and the French inhabitants were not pro-British and not apt to fight to preserve British rule at the posts.
Clark then joined a band of settlers on the Wilderness Trail to Virginia to secure funds.  Instead of a plan to defend just the Kentucky settlements against the Indians, it would become a plan of how to conquer the whole Northwest.

Next time...Clark is given orders
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On January 11, 1776, Georgia's royal governor, Sir James Wright, escapes from his residence in Savannah to the safety of a waiting British warship, after being taken into custody and placed under house arrest by Patriots under Major Joseph Habersham."
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The American Revolution Comes to the Northwest

The Quebec Act of 1774, which marked the beginning of civil government in the Old Northwest, saw Henry Hamilton presiding as Lieutenant Governor in the new capitol of Detroit.  Detroit, at that time was  a town of 1500 English-speaking white settlers.

The beginning of the America Revolution produced no immediate effect in the Northwest territory.  There was really nothing these frontier folk could do to help the colonies fighting on the East coast, until the English changed their minds.  The British decided to ravage the trans-Allegheny country, which made the new western territory an important theater in the war.

The British used the Indians, without regard for humanity, as their one great resource in the west.  The Redcoats put a price on every white scalp - men, women or child all paid the same.  The wilderness became a scene of bloody ambushes paid for by the British.  Wives who went out to milk the cow never were seen again, men who went to gather wood for winter were scalped and left to rot in the forest.  The frontier settlers were not the least responsible for the revolt of the colonies, in fact, they were non-combative.  They were killed because they lived on America soil. 

The responsibility goes to King George and his government.  The Earl of Suffolk wrote, "God and nature has put into our hands the knife to scalp and the tomahawk to torture them into unconditional submission".  In Detroit, Lt. Governor Hamilton, after opening a meeting with prayer, told the assembled Chippewa, Hurons, Mohawks and Potawatomi that it was their "duty" to decimate the white rebels.  Even if the settlers had "submitted" what good would it have done to the Revolution on the East Coast?

It was at this time that the news arrived in Detroit from Illinois, that a band of rebels led by one George Rogers Clark, had overtaken the settlement of Kaskaskia, thrown the commander into irons and required the population to take an oath of allegiance to the Continental Congress.  The settlement of Cahokia near St. Louis, was next, and rumor ran that a French priest was riding to Vincennes to take that settlement for the rebels as well.  The Revolution had come to the Old Northwest.

Next time...George Rogers Clark
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On February 7, 1964,  Pam Am Yankee Clipper flight 101 from London Heathrow lands at New York's Kennedy Airport–and "Beatlemania" arrives. It was the first visit to the United States by the Beatles, a British rock-and-roll quartet that had just scored its first No. 1 U.S. hit six days before.  You know the rest!

George Rogers Clark

Red-headed George Rogers Clark, son of a Virginia planter, explored part of the Ohio River in a canoe at the age of 19.  He moved to Kentucky in 1776 at the age of 24.  At the outbreak of the American Revolution, he was sent to the Virginia legislature.  With the help of Governor Patrick Henry he got 500 pounds of gunpowder for the defense of Kentucky settlements.  Clark and seven men ran 400 miles  of ambushes to get the gunpowder into the settler's hands.

Clark returned to Virginia and persuaded officials to mount a counter attack against the British in Illinois country.  In 1778, he and 175 Virginia volunteers boated down the Ohio River and defeated the British at the key fort of Vincennes, strengthening the American claims to the region from the Ohio River to the Canadian border and west to the Mississippi River.

After the Revolution, Clark was impoverished as Virginia failed for years to repay money he had previously spent on his troops (his own money). Without that money, his troops would have starved to death.  He died in 1818 with little to show for a life of service and bravery.

Next time...A settlement hewn from the forest
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Today in Pioneer History:  On October 12, 1492, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sights a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia.