George Rogers Clark was born in Virginia on November 19, 1752.
He was trained to be a surveyor and spent much time in the area which is now Kentucky. Because the Native Americans were attacking the settlements and making it difficult to plant and harvest crops, Clark asked Patrick Henry, governor of Virginia, to let him take a group of soldiers and protect this wilderness.
Colonel Clark and about 150 men left Fort Pitt and traveled on the Ohio River. They stopped at Corn Island at the Falls of Ohio. In June of 1778 they left for Fort Kaskaskia. On July 4 they occupied the fort without a shot being fired. The frontiersmen also captured Fort Cahokia and Fort Sackville.
When General Henry 'Hair Buyer' Hamilton heard of Clark's capture of the forts he gathered forces and left Fort Detroit traveling on the Maumee River and Wabash River to Vincennes. He recaptured the fort easily. He made the mistake of permitting a fur trader, Francis Vigo, leave Vincennes. Vigo traveled to Kaskaskia and told Clark.
Colonel Clark and his men marched overland from Kaskaskia to Sackville in February of 1779. This was a trip of 240 miles and mainly over flooded country. Sometimes the water was shoulder high. It took them 17 days to reach Vincennes.
When they reached Vincennes Clark had his men carry flags and march back and forth to fool Hamilton into believing that there were many more men than he really had. This trick and the constant firing convinced General Hamilton to surrender the fort.
This helped to win the Revolutionary War in the West and made the area safer for settlement.
This site describes the movements of Clark and the men who helped him. Be sure to check out the sites given on this page.
ROUTE OF CLARK AND HAMILTON
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GENERAL HENRY "HAIR BUYER" HAMILTON
The British leader in the West was General Henry Hamilton. He directed his troops from Fort Detroit. When he learned that Colonel Clark had captured the forts of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Sackville he determined to recapture them. He set out in a southwesterly direction along the Maumee and Wabash Rivers to Fort Sackville at Vincennes. He recaptured the fort easily. He then planned to recapture Forts Kaskaskia and Cahokia when the weather was better. Francis Vigo, a fur trader, was released and went to Fort Kaskaskia to tell Colonel Clark about Hamilton's plans. After this information, Clark began his cold and wet march from Kaskaskia to Vincennes.
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General Hamilton earned the nickname of "Hair Buyer" because he paid the Native Americans to scalp the settlers and return the scalps to him. |
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