George Rogers Clark

https://www.nps.gov/gero/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Rogers_Clark_National_Historical_Park George Rogers Clark National Historical Park is located in Vincennes, Indiana, on the banks of the Wabash River at what is believed to be the site of Fort Sackville. On February 25, 1779, Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark, older brother of William Clark, led the capture of Fort Sackville and British Lt. Governor Henry Hamilton as part of the celebrated Illinois Campaign, which lasted from 1778 to 1779. The heroic march of Clark's men from Kaskaskia on the Mississippi River in mid-winter and the subsequent victory over the British remains one of the most memorable feats of the American Revolution. The British flag would not be raised above Fort Sackville Feb. 25, 1779. At 10 A.M., the garrison surrendered to American Colonel George Rogers Clark. His American army, aided by French residents of the Illinois country, had marched through freezing floodwaters to gain this victory. The fort’s capture assured United States claims to the frontier, an area nearly as large as the original 13 states. The George Rogers Clark National Historical Park is located within the city of Vincennes, Indiana. Evansville is approximately 50 miles to the south and Terre Haute is approximately 50 miles to the north. Highway 41 provides good roads from the north or south. Highway 50 provides access from the east and west. From Hwy 50 east and west or from Hwy 41 from the north use the 6th Street exit. On Hwy 41 from the South use the Willow Street exit. From there follow the blue directional signs for the park. George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Visitor Center The George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Visitor Center is a great place to start your visit. The visitor center contains a small exhibit area. There is a 30-minute introductory movie called "Long Knives" which shares the back story of George Rogers Clark and his military campaign. Before going to the Clark Memorial, check with the ranger at the visitor center. The George Rogers Clark National Historical Park is located within the city of Vincennes, Indiana. Evansville is approximately 50 miles to the south and Terre Haute is approximately 50 miles to the north. Highway 41 provides good roads from the north or south. Highway 50 provides access from the east and west. From Hwy 50 east and west or from Hwy 41 from the north use the 6th Street exit. On Hwy 41 from the South use the Willow Street exit. From there follow the blue directional signs for the park. Clark Memorial at Sunset Sun setting behind the Clark Memorial Many people enjoy watching the sun set behind the George Rogers Clark Memorial on the banks of the Wabash River George Rogers Clark Memorial George Rogers Clark Memorial entrance Thousands of visitors ascend the steps of the Clark Memorial and gain a glimpse of the heroic eagle above the entrance doors. Francis Vigo Statue Sun setting behind the Francis Vigo Statue At the end of each day, visitors gather in the shadow of Vigo to watch the sun set over the Wabash River Purple Sunset Memorial cloudy purple sky with memorial Sunset over the memorial Father Gibault Statue of a man wearing a cloak with trees in background Father Gibault an often overlooked part of the park. National Park Getaway: George Rogers Clark National Historical Park In the town of Vincennes, Indiana, stands the largest Beaux-Arts style monument on an American battlefield and outside of Washington, DC. This monument, within George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, sits on the former site of Fort Sackville to commemorate a little-known battle with tremendous stakes. Monument building in park setting with rainbow overhead Series: Things to Do in the Midwest There is something for everyone in the Midwest. See what makes the Great Plains great. Dip your toes in the continent's inland seas. Learn about Native American heritage and history. Paddle miles of scenic rivers and waterways. Explore the homes of former presidents. From the Civil War to Civil Rights, discover the stories that shape our journey as a nation. Steep bluff with pink sky above and yellow leaves below. Things to Do in Indiana Find things to do, trip ideas, and more in Indiana. Beach along a large lake with green grassy dunes in the background under a blue sky.

George Rogers Clark National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior National Historical Park Indiana Out of despair and destruction [Clark] brought concerted action. With a flash of genius the twenty-six-year-old leader conceived a campaign that was a brilliant masterpiece of military strategy. Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936 By 1775 when the long, bitter struggle for American independence began in the east, waves of emigrants had already begun moving west. In the wild, remote country near present-day Lexington, Kentucky, then part of Virginia, about 300 resourceful men and women had carved a rough existence. Among them was George Rogers Clark, from a Charlottesville family of patriots. British Lt. Gov. Henry Hamilton, who commanded Fort Detroit, tried to stem the tide of westward emigrants. He recruited Native surrogates—already angry over the Americans’ invasion of their lands—to attack the small forts and stations. As the raids grew more frequent, George Rogers Clark (1752–1818) raised a citizen militia that fought back with ferocious vengeance. In the winter of 1777–78, he persuaded Gov. Patrick Henry of Virginia to let him carry the revolution west into British-controlled territory north of the Ohio River. Clark’s public orders were to protect the Kentucky frontier. His secret instructions from the governor were to forge an alliance with French nationals who lived in the British-controlled posts at Kaskaskia and Cahokia (see map below). If Clark succeeded in turning the French against the British, the ultimate prize—Fort Detroit, key to the contested region west of the Appalachians— would lie within his grasp. Above: British Lt. Gov. Henry Hamilton surrenders Fort Sackville to George Rogers Clark, February 25, 1779 (detail) PAINTING BY H. CHARLES MCBARRON / US ARMY CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY Clark’s Campaign to Win the West from Britain May–August 1778 Placing Capt. Leonard Helm in command of Fort Sackville, Clark then moved west to In May 1778, Clark left western Pennsyl- Kaskaskia. From this base he sought, and secured, hostile Native tribes’ temporary vania with 150 volunteers and a daring neutrality. plan to take Britain’s outposts north of the October–December 1778 Clark’s web of Ohio River. He floated intrigue did not hold for long. When the west 900 miles to Corn British learned that Fort Sackville had fallen Island (near present-day into American hands, Lt. Gov. Henry HamilLouisville, Kentucky), then ton headed south from Fort Detroit with a marched 120 miles farther west across pressmall force of British regulars and still-loyal ent-day southwestern Illinois to Kaskaskia, French militia. Hundreds of Native warriors on the Mississippi River. still allied to the British joined him along the way. Overwhelmed, the French renounced On the evening of July 4 Clark approached their recent alliance with the Americans. the village. He took it without firing a shot, Capt. Helm surrendered to the British in by disclosing the recent French-American December 1778. Hamilton then dismissed alliance and promising the villagers religious most of his Native allies and French militia freedom. for the winter. It proved to be a tactical error. Despite his recapture of Fort Sackville, Clark never reached Fort Detroit, but he weakened British resolve. In 1783 the United States and Britain acquired the lands west of the Appalachians in the Treaty of Paris. Four years later, the Continental Congress established the “Territory Northwest of the River Ohio,” made up of present-day Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and eastern Minnesota. It was an uneasy peace. North of the Ohio River, Native resistance continued to slow westward migration. In 1794 American Gen. Antho­ny Wayne’s troops defeated warriors from several tribes at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, in present-day Ohio. Westward emigration surged. By 1800 the Northwest Territory population had swelled to nearly 60,000. Two new Shawnee leaders—Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa—arose to lead a new wave of Native resistance. It culminated He sent Capt. Joseph Bowman and a group February 1779 When an Italian merchantin the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, when of Kaskaskians northwest to Cahokia where trader, Francis Vigo (see other side) informed residents also embraced the patriot cause. the Americans that Fort Sackville was vulner- William Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory, defeated Tenskwatawa. The final Bowman traveled northeast to Vincennes able, Clark seized the opportunity. With 170 defeat of the British and their Native surroand Fort Sackville. Father Pierre Gibault, volunteers, he marched across 160 miles of vicar-general of the Illinois country and head “drowned country,” at times wading through gates in the Northwest Territory did not come until the War of 1812. of Kaskaskia’s Roman Catholic mission, icy, shoulder-height water. Clark’s men took helped sway Vincennes’ French inhabitants positions around the fort and opened fir