GEORGE ROGERS CLARK
Among the foremost of those who promoted the westward growth of our
country stands George Rogers Clark. He was born near Monticello, Virginia,
November 19, 1752. He came of a good family and he received fairly good
training in school. But he learned much more from life than from books.
[Illustration: George Rogers Clark.]
When twenty years old he was already a woodsman and surveyor on the Upper
Ohio, and did something also at farming. About two years later, with
measuring rod and axe, he moved on to Kentucky, where he continued his
work as a surveyor.
A deadly struggle was going on here, you remember, with the Indians, who
had been roused by the British against the backwoodsmen, and in this
struggle Clark became a leader.
Why it was that in hardly more than a year's time this young man of
twenty-four rose to a position of leadership among the settlers, and was
chosen one of their lawmakers, we shall understand when we come to see
more of his sterling qualities.
Nature had given him a pleasing face which men trusted. His forehead was
high and broad under a shock of sandy hair, and honest blue eyes peered
out from under heavy, shaggy eyebrows. His strong body could endure almost
any hardship, and his splendid health was matched by his adventurous
spirit. His fearless courage was equal to any danger, and his resolute
purpose would not give way in the face of almost insurmountable
difficulties.
His great task would have been impossible except as he possessed these
qualities, and we know that one does not come by them suddenly. They grow
by bravely conquering the fears of every-day life and not giving in to
difficulties. It was in this way that the fearless hunters of Kentucky
quickly recognized in him a master spirit.
Clark, as you may imagine, was not content to remain in Kentucky merely as
a skilful hunter and bold leader of war parties sent out to punish Indian
bands. His keen mind had worked out a brilliant plan, which he was eager
to carry through. It was nothing less than to conquer for his country the
vast stretch of land lying north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi,
now included in the present Great Lake States.
In this vast region of forest and prairie the only settlements were the
scattered French hamlets, begun in the early days of exploration, when the
French occupied the land and traded with the Indians for fur. These
hamlets had passed into the hands of the English after the Last French War
and were made the centres of English power, from which, as we have seen,
the English commanders aroused the Indians against the backwoodsmen remote
from their home settlements.
These few villages or trading-posts, which were defended by forts, were
scattered here and there at convenient places along the river courses, the
three strongest forts being at Vincennes, on the Wabash, at Kaskaskia, and
at Detroit.
Over all the rest of the wild territory roamed hostile Indian tribes,
hunting and fighting against one another as well as against the
frontiersmen.
Clark saw that if this region should be conquered the spreading prairies
could be opened up for settlement.
As the first step in carrying out his plan, he needed to secure aid from
Patrick Henry, the governor of Virginia. Early in October, 1777, he
started out on horseback from Harrodsburg, one of the Kentucky
settlements, to ride through the forests and over the mountains to
Williamsburg, then the capital of the State. So urgent was his haste that
he stopped on the way but a single day at his father's house, the home of
his childhood, and then pressed on to Williamsburg. It took a whole month
to make this journey of six hundred and twenty miles.
Patrick Henry at once fell in with Clark's plan. He arranged that the
government should furnish six thousand dollars. But as it was needful that
the utmost secrecy should be preserved, nothing was said about the matter
to the Virginia Assembly. Clark was to raise his own company among the
frontiersmen. The whole burden of making the necessary preparations rested
upon him.
CLARK STARTS ON HIS LONG JOURNEY
With good heart he shouldered it, and in May, 1778, was ready with one
hundred and fifty-three men to start from the Redstone Settlements, on the
Monongahela River. He stopped at both Pittsburg and Wheeling for needed
supplies. Then his flatboats, manned by tall backwoodsmen in their
picturesque dress, rowed or floated cautiously down the Ohio River.
They did not know on how great a journey they had entered, for even to his
followers Clark could not tell his plan.
Toward the last of the month, on reaching the falls of the Ohio, near the
present site of Louisville, they landed on an island, where Clark built a
fort and drilled his men. Some of the families that had come with him, and
were on their way to Kentucky, remained there until autumn, planting some
corn and naming the island Corn Island.
When about to leave, Clark said to the men: "We are going to the
Mississippi." Some were faint-hearted and wished to turn back. "You may
go," said Clark, for he wanted no discontented men among his number. From
those remaining he carefully picked out the ones who seemed robust enough
to endure the extreme hardships which he knew awaited them.
[Illustration: George Rogers Clark in the Northwest.]
As the success of the enterprise depended upon surprising the enemy, it
was extremely important that he press forward as secretly and as speedily
as possible. Accordingly, the men rowed hard, night and day, until they
came to an island off the mouth of the Tennessee River. Here it was their
good fortune to meet with a small party of hunters who had been at the
French settlements not long before. These men cheerfully joined Clark's
party, agreeing to act as guides to Kaskaskia.
"If you go by the water-route of the Mississippi," said these hunters,
"the French commander at Kaskaskia will get news of your coming, through
boatmen and hunters along the river, and will be ready to defend the fort
against you. The fort is strong and the garrison well trained, and if the
commander knows of your approach he will put up a good fight."
[Illustration: Clark on the Way to Kaskaskia.]
So it was decided to go by land. At one time the guide lost his way, and
Clark was angry, for he feared treachery. But after two hours they found
the right course again.
On the evening of July 4 the Kaskaskia was reached. The fort was only
three miles away, but it was across the stream. Remaining in the woods
until dusk, they rested; then, as night fell, they pushed on to a little
farmhouse only a mile from the fort. Here Clark obtained boats and
silently, in the darkness, conveyed his men across the stream.
After two hours all was ready for the attack. Clark divided the men into
two bodies: one to surround the town and prevent the escape of the
fugitives, and the other, led by himself, to advance to the walls of the
fort.
[Illustration: Clark's Surprise at Kaskaskia.]
A postern gate on the side facing the river had been pointed out by a
captive, and Clark stationed his men so as to guard it. Then he went
inside along to the entrance of the large hall where public gatherings
were held.
It was brilliantly lighted, and floating through the windows came the
music of violins. The officers of the fort were giving a dance, and young
creole men and maidens were spending a merry evening. Even the sentinels
had left their posts in order to enjoy the festal occasion.
Alone, Clark passed through the doorway and stood with folded arms, in
grim silence, coolly watching the mirthful dancers. Lying upon the floor
just inside the door was an Indian brave. As he raised his eyes to the
face of the strange backwoodsman standing out clearly in the light of the
torches, he sprang to his feet with a piercing war-whoop. The music broke
off suddenly; a hush fell. Then the women screamed, and there was a wild
rush for the door.
Without stirring from the place where he stood, Clark quietly said: "Go on
with your dance; but remember that you now dance under Virginia, and not
under Great Britain." Scarcely had he uttered these words when his men,
seeing the confusion, rushed into the forts and seized the officers, among
whom was the French commander.
Then Clark sent runners throughout the town to order the people to remain
within their houses. The simple-hearted Frenchmen were in a panic of fear.
The next morning some of their chief men, appearing before Clark, begged
for their lives. "We will gladly become slaves," they cried, "if by so
doing we may save our families." "We do not wish to enslave you," Clark
answered, "and if you will solemnly promise to become loyal American
citizens you shall be welcome to all the privileges of Americans."
On hearing these words the French people were so carried away with joy
that they danced and sang and scattered flowers along the street. By his
kind way of dealing with them, Clark made the people of the town his
friends instead of his enemies.
A little later the people of Vincennes also solemnly promised to be loyal
citizens, and, taking down the English flag, they raised the American
stars and stripes over their fort.
LIFE IN THE OLD FRENCH VILLAGES
You will enjoy a glimpse of the life in these old French villages, for it
is quite different from that of the settlements we have visited. There are
many little hamlets, like Kaskaskia and Vincennes, on the western
frontier. They have been in existence for years, but have not increased
much in strength or size.
The French people living there have never mingled with the American
backwoodsmen. They have kept by themselves, remaining for the most part
half-homesick emigrants. Many of them are engaged in the fur trade; some
are adventure-loving wood rovers and hunters, but the most of them are
farmers on a small scale.
Their little villages, composed of hovels or small log cottages, are
guarded by rough earthworks. A few roomy buildings serve as storehouses
and strongholds in times of danger. There are also little wine-shops, as
in the old country, which the French love, and in which they are always
entertained by the music of violins.
There is much gay color on the streets of these hamlets, for the Frenchmen
are dressed in bright-colored suits, made of Indian blankets. And lounging
about in cheap paint or soiled finery are lazy Indians, begging at times
and at times idly watching the boats rowing up and down the river.
We see, too, now and then, the familiar red-and-buff uniforms of the
British army officers, which are regarded with awe whenever they appear.
For you must remember that after 1763 all the French hamlets were in
British hands, and the English officers were the great men of this country
north of the Ohio.
CLARK'S HARD TASK
Although the life was gayer and easier in these French villages than in
the frontier settlements, and although the taking of Kaskaskia and
Vincennes had been easy, Clark still had a hard task before him. His small
force was made up of men who were in the habit of doing as they pleased,
and over them he had no control except through their personal liking for
him.
Furthermore, he was so many hundred miles from Virginia that he could not
hope to get any advice or help from the government for months, or perhaps
for an entire year. He must rely entirely upon himself. And we shall see
that he was equal to the situation.
Outside the villages, roaming over the great region he was hoping to
conquer, were thousands of Indians. They were hostile, bloodthirsty, and
ready to slaughter without pity. When they heard what Clark and his
backwoodsmen had done, they crowded to Kaskaskia to see for themselves.
Lurking back of their gloomy faces were wicked thoughts. Clark was in
great danger from these Indians.
But he proved himself their master also. Though carefully on his guard in
any dealings he might have with them, he always appeared to them quite
unafraid and confident that he could take care of himself. His boldness
and firmness, even when surrounded by red warriors greatly outnumbering
his own small force, had a profound effect upon them.
[Illustration: Wampum Peace Belt.]
Once he told them that he could appeal to the Thirteen
Council-Fires--meaning, of course, the thirteen States--and that they
could send him men enough to darken the land. The Indians began to fear
him and to look upon him as a mighty warrior, and when he held up to them
the red wampum belt of war and the white of peace for them to choose which
they would have, they chose peace and left the settlement.
But there was still another very serious difficulty which Clark had to
face. It caused even greater anxiety than the danger from the Indians, for
it was within his own company. You remember that when his men started out
they did not know that they were to go so far away from home. Now, when
their time of service was up, they threatened to leave him and return to
their homes. By means of presents and promises Clark persuaded about a
hundred to stay eight months longer. The others left for home.
A weaker man might have been quite helpless if left with so small a force.
Not so Clark. He had wonderful power over people, and soon the creoles of
the French villages had become so loyal that their young men took the
places of the woodsmen who went away. Clark thoroughly drilled them all
until they were finely trained for any service he might ask.
It was well he did so. For Colonel Hamilton, the British commander at
Detroit, who had charge of the British forces throughout the vast region
which Clark was trying to conquer, was a man of great energy. Soon after
getting news of what Clark had done at Kaskaskia and Vincennes, he began
preparing for an expedition against the latter place.
Early in October (1779) he set out from Detroit with one hundred and
seventy-seven soldiers and sixty Indians. By the time he had reached
Vincennes so many other Indians had joined him that his entire force
numbered about five hundred. The fort at Vincennes, as you remember,
contained only a handful of men, and it easily fell into Hamilton's hands
(December 17, 1779).
If Hamilton had at once marched on to Kaskaskia, he might have captured
Clark or driven him out of the northwest. But that same tendency to "put
off," which had already cost the British many a victory, here again saved
the day for the Americans. Because the weather was so cold, the route so
long, and the other difficulties in his way so great, Hamilton resolved to
wait until spring before going farther.
And not expecting to need his soldiers before spring, he sent back to
Detroit the greater part of his force. He kept with him about eighty of
the white soldiers and about the same number of Indian allies.
About six weeks later Clark learned from an Indian trader how small the
garrison was at Vincennes. You may be sure that he did not wait for
seasons to change. Quick to realize that this was his chance, he gathered
a force of one hundred and seventy men--nearly half of them creoles--and
in seven days he was on his way to Vincennes.
CLARK CAPTURES VINCENNES
The route, two hundred and forty miles in length, led eastward across what
is now Illinois. As often happens at this season, the weather had grown so
mild that the ice and snow had thawed, causing the rivers to overflow, and
the meadows and lowlands which lay along a large part of the route were
under water from three to five foot deep.
When we remember that there were no houses for shelter, no roads, and no
bridges across the swollen streams, we can imagine something of the
hardships of this midwinter journey. Only very strong men could endure
such exposure.
Knowing that cheerfulness would help greatly in keeping his men well and
willing, Clark encouraged feasting and merrymaking as all were gathered at
night around the blazing logs. There the game killed during the day was
cooked and eaten, and while some sang and danced, according to creole
custom, others sat before the huge fires and told exciting stories about
hunting and Indian warfare. Then, warmed and fed, all lay down by the fire
for the night's rest.
As long as this lasted the journey was by no means hard; but by the end of
a week conditions had changed, for they had reached the drowned lands of
the Wabash.
Coming first to the two branches of the Little Wabash, they found the
floods so high that the land between the two streams was entirely under
water, and they were facing a mighty river five miles wide and at no point
less than three feet deep, while, of course, in the river beds it was much
deeper.
But Clark was resourceful. He at once had his men build a pirogue, or
dugout canoe. In this he rowed across the first branch of the river, and
on the edge of the water-covered plain put up a scaffold. Then the men and
the baggage were ferried across in the pirogue, and the baggage was placed
on the scaffold. Last of all, the pack-horses swam the channel, and
standing by the scaffold in water above their knees, received again their
load of baggage.
[Illustration: Clark's Advance on Vincennes.]
All then proceeded to the second channel, which was crossed in the same
way. It took three days to build the pirogue and cross the two branches of
the river.
During this time hunger was added to the other sufferings of the men, for
the flood had driven all the wild animals away, so that there was no
longer any game to shoot. Advance was slow and extremely tiresome, for the
men had to march from morning till night up to their waists in mud and
water. They were nearing the Great Wabash River.
On February 20 the men were quite exhausted. There had been nothing to eat
for nearly two days. Many of the creoles were so downcast that they began
to talk of going home. Clark, putting on a brave face, laughed and said:
"Go out and kill a deer."
But meanwhile his men, acting under orders, had built three canoes, and on
the morning of the 22d the entire force was ferried across the Wabash.
Once on the side of the river where Vincennes stood, they began to feel
more cheerful, for by night they expected to be at the fort.
It was well that they did not know what awaited them, for they had yet a
bitter experience to pass through. Almost all the way was under water, and
as they went slowly on they often stepped into hollows where the water
came up to their chins. But, guided by their bold leader, they pressed
forward until they reached a hillock, where they spent the night.
During the long hours of this trying day Clark had kept up the spirits of
his men in every way he could. In telling about it later, he said: "I
received much help from a little antic drummer, a boy with such a
fun-loving spirit that he made the men laugh, in spite of their weariness,
at his pranks and jokes."
On starting out again the next morning some were so weak and famished that
they had to be taken in the canoes. Those who were strong enough to wade
came to water too deep to walk through, and, painfully struggling, began
to huddle together as if all hope had fled.
Then Clark had to do something to rouse them. Suddenly he blackened his
face with gunpowder and, sounding the war-whoop like an Indian brave,
fearlessly sprang forward. His men plunged in after him without a word.
By dusk they were still six miles from Vincennes. Their clothing was
drenched, their muscles ached with weariness, and they were well-nigh
exhausted from lack of food. To make matters worse, the weather that day
was bitterly cold. Yet the worst experience of the whole trying march was
to come.
For before them stretched a shallow lake, four miles in extent. With
something like a score of the strongest men just behind him, Clark plunged
into the ice-cold water, breast-deep. When they had gone about half-way
across some of them were so cold and weak that they could not take another
step. So the canoes were kept busy rescuing them and getting them to land.
Those who, though weak, were still able to keep their feet, clung to the
strong and plodded forward. When they had finally reached the woods
bordering the farther side of the lake, they had not strength enough to
pull themselves out, but clung desperately to the bushes and logs on the
shore until the canoes could pick them up.
On reaching land some were so exhausted that they fell upon the ground
with their faces half buried in the water. But the stronger ones built
fires and fed them broth made from some venison they had taken from squaws
in an Indian canoe which happened along. With food and warmth courage
returned.
In the afternoon they set out again. After crossing a narrow lake in the
canoes and marching a short distance, they reached a tree-covered spot
from which they could see the town and the fort. There they made a stop
and, hidden by the trees, made ready for the attack.
There was some fighting that night, and it was continued the next day.
Then Clark demanded the surrender of the fort. Hamilton at first refused,
but, as he had only a small number of men, he had to give up both fort and
garrison. He himself was sent a prisoner to Virginia.
Clark's capture of Vincennes was the finishing stroke of his conquest. He
had succeeded in one of the boldest enterprises ever undertaken in
America. All the vast region he had set out to conquer remained under
American control until the end of the Revolution, when, by treaty, it
formally became a part of our country.
In carrying out his plans Clark had not only risked his health and life,
but he had used up all his property. In spite of the great service he had
done his country, his last years were spent in poverty. For a while he
lived alone in a rude dwelling on Corn Island, but later his sister took
him to her home near Louisville. Here, in 1818, came to an end the life of
this heroic soldier and loyal American.
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
1. What was Clark's brilliant plan?
2. Imagine yourself with him on the evening when he captured the fort at
Kaskaskia, and tell as fully as you can what happened. Tell something of
his hard task in the days that followed.
3. Can you explain how it was that he had such a powerful influence over
men?
4. In imagination go with Clark on his wonderful march from Kaskaskia to
Vincennes and give an account of your trials and sufferings.
5. How do you account for Clark's remarkable success? What do you admire
about him?
6. Are you making frequent use of the map?