USA > Illinois > Massac County > History of Massac County, Illinois > Part 3
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*2Palmer-Clark of the Ohio, Pp. 198, 199.
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HISTORY OF MASSAC COUNTY
They were now relieved of every unessential thing. There not being a soul at Fort Massac, the soldiers took possession.
On landing, Clark hoisted the newly-adopted banner of the United States, since there is good reason to believe that he carried such a flag. This was probably the first time that the flag of the young nation was ever unrolled so far in the west. How- ever, it is remotely possible that it was seen earlier in the year when James Willing, a Captain in the Continental Army, made a cruise down the Ohio in an armed vessel from Fort Pitt. "He skirted the entire boundary of Southern Illinois, captured a number of traders, and greatly alarmed the com- mandant at Kaskaskia." (12)
Clark's first difficulty had been to raise money and troops; now he faced a second great difficulty. A thousand miles from his base of supplies, no chance of reenforcements, an unknown wilderness before him, in a hostile country-these were enough to test the strength of any man. But his men were undaunted, and depended on secrecy and surprise to accomplish the work of numbers. Hulbert has said that "had one man dropped from the ranks each mile, not one of the one hundred sixty would have reached the Wabash."*1
Some writers have thought that if Fort Massac
*1Reprinted by permission of the publishers, The Arthur H. Clark Company, from Hulbert's Military Roads of the Mississippi Basin, P. 33.
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THE "BIG KNIFE CHIEF"-CLARK
had been occupied in 1778, Clark's plans for the conquest of Illinois would have been "nipped in the bud." Such is unlikely. Clark would have gone about the capture of Fort Massac as he did the Village of Kaskaskia; he would have taken the fort by some stratagem. Although Fort Massac un- doubtedly would have complicated matters for Clark, yet we must not place too much emphasis upon it in the campaign. The focus should be upon Clark himself.
There has been a great deal of controversy as to the route which Clark took from Fort Massac. Hul- bert says: "It is strange that the route of this immortal little army has never been carefully con- sidered-for the story of the route is almost the whole story of the Campaign."*2 Recall Chapter One, under "Surface and Drainage". There it was learned of the vast cypress swamps which then stretched between Cache Creek and Bay Creek, making it impassable in the wet season and difficult enough in the dry season. Lakes and sloughs lay over a width of one to four miles. It was possible to avoid the worst by taking the old Massac Road to the east and passing through Pope County. There the trail merged with another one and swung west- ward to the prairies. Since it was June and com- paratively dry, Clark, then, had a choice of routes.
*2Reprinted by permission of the publishers, The Arthur H. Clark Company, from Hulbert's Military Roads of the Mississippi Basin, Pp. 33, 34.
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HISTORY OF MASSAC COUNTY
There were two routes from Fort Massac to the prairies of Williamson County. One led from Fort Massac (called the Moccasin Gap route) and after circling northeastward to avoid the swamps, led in- to the Golconda-Kaskaskia road, two and one-half miles west of Golconda. This route, after joining the "Hunter's Road", turned northwestward, passing near Parker City and Marion to the prairies. This was in the earliest days a military road ; in the future it was to serve as a road for immigrants, and later was marked each mile on trees from Massac to Kaskaskia. It has also been called "The Trace", and later, "The Old Massac Road". (31) The trail was very irregular until in 1821 a Mr. Worthen per- formed the task of straightening it.
The second route was known as the Buffalo Gap route. It circled the lakes of Massac County to the westward, keeping between them and the Cache River. It left Massac County near Indian Point, where years ago, an old abandoned road could be faintly discerned, and passed northward through Buffalo Gap, in Johnson County, to the prairies. (31)
There was a third route which led to Kaskaskia, but which did not pass to the prairies of Williamson County. This third route followed the second through Massac County, and left it just above In- dian Point. It then swung westward to Carbondale. (31)
All the evidence points quite conclusively that the "middle", Buffalo Gap, or second route, as we
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THE "BIG KNIFE CHIEF"-CLARK
have numbered it, was the one followed by Clark. The junction of the "Old Massac Road" with the "Hunter's Road" (the first route) was not more than a day's journey from Fort Massac. It was a three day's journey from the fort to the "Hunter's Road" by the "Middle Trail", and when the guide became lost the third day, there can be little doubt but that he was searching for this road. In fact, Clark's command was to find the "Hunter's Road." The trail was distinguished only by woods which extended some ways into the prairies or along streams, and the tall grass made it easy for one to have his view so obstructed that he could not recog- nize familiar "points" of woods. (31)
Since the "Western Trail", or third route, was wet and did not touch the prairies at all, it can be eliminated. (31) Parrish and Milo Erwin believe the Moccasin Gap route was taken; but if Clark's memoir is accepted as accurate in detail, then it must be concluded that the Buffalo Gap route was the one taken.
After a good night's rest the army struck out in a northwestern direction, keeping the swamps of the Big Bay on the east and those of the Cache on the west. They crossed the Morgan Bottoms several miles out. Higher land was found at noon on a hill now known as Clark's Spur, where no doubt they paused to rest. They then entered a dark and gloomy cypress swamp which bordered the Cache. The smaller canyons of Cache Creek were crossed,
LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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HISTORY OF MASSAC COUNTY
and in the late afternoon they emerged from the green arbor and ascended the rocky promotory known as Indian Point. They passed out of Massac County in Sec. 5, Twp. 14, R. 3 E. It was approxi- mately 18 miles from Fort Massac and was a good day's march considering the terrain.
A stone shaft has been erected at Indian Point in honor of the passage over this hill. It is one of four markers erected in 1913 by the Daniel Chapman Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolu- tion. This granite monument bears the following inscription : "First Camp of General George Rogers Clark, on his march from Fort Massac to Fort Kaskaskia, 1778. Erected 1913 by Daniel Chapman Chapter D.A.R."
All had gone well thus far except for some thirst, but not to excess. On the third day, however, the principal guide, John Sanders, lost his bearing on the prairies and sought in vain for the "Hunter's Road". Clark had a suspicion that he was a traitor and gave him only a short time in which to discover the trail, else he would be hanged. Upon his knees Sanders begged for his life and asked to be allowed time to find the trail. After a search of an hour or two, he came to a place that he knew. Far from being a traitor he proved an invaluable man and Clark became much attached to him.
After reaching the level plains Clark was very vigilant lest the enemy should discover his army. It was exigent that he hurry for on these level
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THE "BIG KNIFE CHIEF"-CLARK
prairies an army could be seen for miles. Every- thing now depended on swiftness and secrecy.
At last, after another three-day's march Clark arrived at Kaskaskia. There is no need to trace his career further. Every history tells of his daring triumph over the British at Kaskaskia in the middle of the night of July 4; how the inhabitants yielded with terror and without a struggle to the stalwart "Long Knives". So the British gave up their brief authority.
Massac County has been able to pay honor to George Rogers Clark. Early in the present century, the D.A.R. began the reconstruction of old Fort Massac and a monument was erected to his memory. A new statue was unveiled in 1932. Near the top of the old monument, and on each side, was the shield or insignia of the four nations that had pos- session of the fort. At the base of the old shaft was the following inscription in bronze, but which is now on a separate tablet: IN MEMORY OF GEORGE ROGERS CLARK and his faithful com-
panions in arms, who, by their enterprise, courage, devotion, and sagacity, won the Illinois Country for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and so for the American Union, this monument has been erected in the name of a grateful people by the Illinois Chap- ters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1907.
CHAPTER VI
A PERIOD OF CONSPIRACY
FOREIGN CONSPIRACY-In 1794 conditions grew so alarming on the western frontier that there was need for some protective measures. Clark had frequently mentioned Fort Massac as needing forti- fying but no action had been taken and for sixteen years the place had been deserted.
France had determined to drive Spain from Louisiana, and was even fitting out parties recruited from American citizens. General Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory, issued in 1793 a proclamation warning all citizens to observe a strict neutrality, and commanded military officers to do all within their power to keep Americans from joining in the malicious plans of the French. Citizen Genet deliberately planned two expeditions made up of American filibusters, one of which was to sail down the Ohio. Old Fort Massac was considered by the conspirators as a good rallying place and base of supplies, although it is unknown if it actually was used.
Certainly it was not so used after the summer of
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A PERIOD OF CONSPIRACY
1794, for on March 31 General "Mad Anthony" Wayne received a special order from President Washington instructing him to "erect a strong re- doubt and block house with some suitable cannon from Cincinnati, for the purpose of stopping by force, if peaceful means should fail, any body of armed men who should proceed down the Ohio and threaten hostilities with Spain." (21) General Wayne, acting upon Washington's order, instructed a detachment of men under Major Thomas Doyle to go to Fort Massac and garrison it. Doyle's expedi- tion, consisting of ten boats, reached the fort on June 12.
An interesting character in Doyle's party was one Benjamin Van Cleve, who kept a diary. The diary, from which Mrs. Scott gives excerpts, is too lengthy to quote here. Van Cleve wrote that on June 24 several of the men joined the French, and that Major Doyle had trouble with some of the deserters. Matters were soon settled, however, to the pleasure of all. (27)
FORT MASSAC POST SUCCESSFUL-In the autumn of 1794 the Indians began a ravaging cam- paign and committed many dreadful depredations along the Ohio and Tennessee rivers. To protect the frontier from these harrowing incidents, Major Doyle called for a relief force. In October he stated that "the relief will be necessary in order to protect the valuable settlement and trade along the river, and my own force, from the smallness of the force
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HISTORY OF MASSAC COUNTY
and the number of sick, can only be expected to de- fend the fort." In answer to the call came a detach- ment of Kentucky Militia under Lieutenant Bird, who arrived at Fort Massac on October 19 and re- mained in arms until December. (27)
By the Treaty of Greenville, August 3, 1795, the Indian savagery was to cease, and the Revolution may be said properly to have ended in the west. By the fourth article of the treaty "the said Indian tribes relinquish all the title and claim which they or any of them have to the Post of Fort Massac, towards the mouth of the Ohio." (27)
Fort Massac, thus rebuilt and garrisoned, was successful in staving off the Spanish, French and English intrigues following the Revolutionary War, and served as a protection against the Indians.
At one time Spain was actually contemplating the capture of Fort Massac, which in turn was to be occupied by adventurers and conspirators. Baron Carondelet actually proposed that "immediately after the Declaration, Fort Massac shall be taken possession of by the troops of the new government, which shall be furnished by his Catholic Majesty, without loss of time, with 20 field pieces, with their carriages and every necessary appendage, including powder, ball, etc., together with a number of small arms, and ammunition sufficient to equip the troops that it shall be necessary to raise. The whole to be transported at his expense to the already mentioned Fort Massac. His Catholic Majesty will further
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A PERIOD OF CONSPIRACY
supply the sum of $100,000 for the raising and main- taining of said troops, which sum shall also be con- veyed to, and delivered to Fort Massac." (27)
Several valuable and interesting accounts exist concerning the Western Country at this time. The foreign conspirators had spies to travel about and make written reports. Others were friendly visitors. Victor Collot, in his atlas (1826) gives a description of the Ohio and the posts adjacent to it. He remarks of Fort Massac that it was "so called by the Ameri- cans, and Fort Massacre by the Canadians. It is a post anciently established by the French and aban- doned at the time of the cession of Louisiana. It has lately been repaired, and has been occupied two years by the Americans." (27)
Francis Baily, noted English astronomer, toured the west in 1796-97. He says of Fort Massac in his journal : "It takes its name from a cruel massacre of the garrison by the Indians, when the French had possession of it." (27) This shows that visitors to the old fort formed an incorrect conception of its past history as soon as they received a hint as to the possible origin of its name.
During the spring of 1796, 30 families and a garrison of 83 men, commanded by Captain Zebulon Pike, were settled at the fort to guard the frontier against Indian attacks. Pike was characterized by those who knew him as an experienced officer, polite and considerate toward the people of the fort.
A consideration was made in September 1799 for
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HISTORY OF MASSAC COUNTY
the further defense of Fort Massac. Troubles con- tinued with the French. Although General James Wilkinson submitted plans for strengthening the post with 100 men and companies of artillery, they were dropped, after which trouble with France soon ceased.
In the autumn of 1799 provision boats stopped at intervals and furnished the fort with supplies. The last trip had been made in October 1797, when clothing was sent in quantity for 159 men. The next trip was on September 24, 1799, when more clothing was sent-for infantry and artillery men this time. On November 24 "hospital" supplies were sent, con- sisting of allspice, barley, coffee, chocolate, brandy, wine and other things. On December 17 medicines were sent for the garrison. (27)
For a decade and a half of the new century vari- ous companies of the United States Army were stationed at Fort Massac. In 1802 one company of infantry was allotted to the fort. On March 7, 1803, and on February 3, 1804, the Secretary of War stated that a company of artillerists and one com- pany of the first regiment of infantry were stationed there, with Lieutenant Swan as assistant military agent. In December 1804 Captain Russell Bissell was in command. Early in 1805 Laymon's Company was stationed at the fort. (27)
The first post office established in Johnson and what is now Massac County was at Fort Massac in 1803. It was given as 870 miles from Washington.
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A PERIOD OF CONSPIRACY
THE BURR CONSPIRACY-In April 1803 Aaron Burr began his tour of the west for recruits for his treasonable plans. He made his first appearance at Fort Massac in the summer of 1806. He had en- listed previously a Mr. Blennerhasset in his confi- dence. It was Burr's plan, as far as history knows, to establish an empire in the unsettled west and to make himself the ruler over it. Burr's beautiful daughter, Theodosia, was left at Blennerhasset's Island with Mrs. Blennerhasset, while he himself crossed into Kentucky and Tennessee in an attempt to secure followers. He then set afloat on the Cum- berland and dropped down to Fort Massac to confer and plot with Wilkinson, then stationed there. Wil- kinson pledged himself to so infamous a proposal as was presented. During all his services in the Army he was of doubtful character, ready to listen to any scheme which promised personal gain. He worked assiduously at St. Louis for recruits for Burr.
In the meantime, Burr had passed down to New Orleans and presented his scheme in a glowing style to the Creoles. They listened with acquiescence but did nothing to further the scheme. Burr then re- turned to visit Wilkinson at St. Louis. The latter had changed. He saw the futility of such a plan ; he saw that men were not to be swayed in their allegi- ance to the Union. Wilkinson promptly gave Burr to understand he did not wish to become involved in a scheme in which the chances for success were frail.
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HISTORY OF MASSAC COUNTY
In August, 1806, Burr again visited Blenner- hasset. The attractions of Theodosia and Burr's own address and magnetism, completely overcame Blen- nerhasset and his wife. What Burr now needed most was money. His friend met the appeal by giving almost all his money to the financing of a proposed expedition.
They remained at the island until autumn. Burr returned to Tennessee while Blennerhasset, on De- cember 10, under cover of night, set afloat with his batteaux, leaving his wife and two little boys to follow later. The two conspirators had planned to meet at the mouth of the Cumberland and, true to plans, met on Christmas Eve. They proceeded to Fort Massac, where they passed Christmas, and spent a few days in making plans for the trip to New Orleans. On December 29, everything was ready and they departed.
It is rather certain that Blennerhasset took most of his money with him. Tradition has it that he buried a large amount somewhere near the old fort. It is said that a number of men from Paducah came over to the fort several years ago to prospect for the buried treasure. They never found it.
The career of Aaron Burr was now about to come to a close. Jefferson was informed of the scheme by regularly-sent letters, and issued an order for Burr's arrest. Judge Hall writes: "When the alarm was given, and orders were issued for the arrest of Burr and his adherents, they were obliged to resort to a
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A PERIOD OF CONSPIRACY
variety of expedients to escape detection. At Fort Massac, and other places, all boats on descending the river were compelled to stop and undergo strict examination, to the great vexation of boatmen and peaceable voyagers, who were often obliged to land at unseasonable hours. Very diligent inquiry was made for the lady who several times narrowly escaped detection, through her own ingenuity and that of her companions." (23) In this manner Burr's expedition was broken up. (22)
As Burr's flotilla approached Natchez it was seized with scarcely an effort. Burr escaped into the Choctaw lands but was later captured. Mrs. Blennerhasset and the two little boys returned from Marietta on December 16. Her captor was A. W. Putnam, who had learned that she was to meet her husband at the mouth of the Cumberland. Early in January, 1807, she was restored to her husband at Bayou Pierre. No serious charges were brought against Blennerhasset but he was almost a ruined man. Burr was acquitted and the so-called con- spiracy ended.
This was the wildest of all western dreams. Burr should have seen the futility of such a scheme, but he was highly fanciful and ambitious and in the new unsettled west saw in his mind's eye a chance for disunion. Some writer has said that the French, Spanish, English and Burr conspiracies were really manifestations of the beginnings of politics in the west. The nation was young; the country beyond
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HISTORY OF MASSAC COUNTY
the Alleghenies still younger. Upon the least grounds political aspirants brought charges against Sebastian, Powers, Innes, Wilkinson and others, seeking thereby to gain the support and acclaim of the mass of the people.
Burr's intrigues were the least dangerous of the western schemes for disunion. Theodore Roosevelt writes that "it left scarcely a ripple in the West." Yet among all the plotters Burr's actions aroused the most interest and speculation. Although it is hardly to be thought that anyone regards Burr's stay at Fort Massac, and the disloyal plans made there, as an honor ; yet steeped in infamy as it is and tinged with actions which must forever remain a stigma, the name of Aaron Burr must occupy forever a prominent place in American history.
CHAPTER VII
FOUR DECADES OF MASSAC HISTORY
MASSAC AN ECONOMIC CENTER-One must be impressed at once, in the study of a certain region, with the fact that out-lying regions in which one does not pretend an interest, inevitably force them- selves upon the student for consideration. We can- not very well understand the economic development around the Massac area if we do not give attention to general movements in all Western Kentucky, Southern Illinois, and even the parts of Tennessee and Missouri which are nearest to us. The history of our little world is often closely linked with the near events and movements of adjacent regions. Massac could not have become an economic factor in the West, a center of trade and traffic, if goods had not been brought down the Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, and up and down the Mississippi, to meet at a common center of activity.
It appears as a matter of history that from earliest times Fort Massac has been a great gather- ing place for successive peoples, the Indian first, followed by hunter and settler. The tannery and
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HISTORY OF MASSAC COUNTY
fur trading post established at Va Bache nearby in 1702, was a forerunner and indicator of the character of the products and activities of the region. The flora and fauna of the lower Ohio was varied. The animal life played its part for the first hundred years of the white man's occupation. The post was sig- nificant as it related to the fur industry. It was also strategically located from a military standpoint.
There are some very real and natural causes for the importance of the Fort Massac territory in the Eighteenth Century, and which reached its highest point around 1800, but did not culminate until some time later. Foremost was the remarkable fertility of the Ohio Valley. The first settlements were made along the fringes of the river banks, the prairies being still unoccupied. When the white man first came in contact with the Indians, he found little patches of corn all along the river. Begun by the Indians this plan of agriculture was adopted by the white man. It was a convenient way of getting the products to market. After the crop was harvested the settler built a raft and in the spring floated down with the surplus grain to market. (8)
Besides the crops, which around 1800 were still small, there was the industry of hunting and trap- ping. Although not as lucrative as in earlier years, the traffic in furs, skins, venison and other wild meat made up a considerable part of the trade in the Massac district. It was in the midst of the bear country and near the salines of Kentucky and Illi-
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FOUR DECADES OF MASSAC HISTORY
nois. These products were exchanged for manu- factured goods and luxuries from the States. For a long time the fur industry remained a favored occu- pation. After the larger animals became scarce, effort was concentrated upon the smaller but scarcely less valuable fur-bearers.
Western immigration from the coastal states is characterized by successive waves, beginning around 1763 and lasting well past 1800. It was the second and third wave which filled the Ohio Valley. This exodus from the east paved the way for western development, whose lands as yet had been scarcely touched. Crops were grown by the newcomers and gradually reached important proportions. Fort Massac was a terminus for many of these immi- grants. In 1797 a colony of 126 persons landed at the fort on their way to New Design. (8) In 1800 the official population of Fort Massac was 90. In 1806 it was estimated that 650 people were living on the Ohio between the Wabash River and Fort Massac. (21)
With the beginning of the year 1799 Fort Massac and the adjacent region began to take a larger part in the economic history of the period. River trade increased very rapidly. Alvord says in regard to this development : "In 1799, for the collection of duties on merchandise and tonnage, Congress created sev- eral districts, two of which touched Illinois, though only one ever attained importance. The district of Fort Massac, extending north and east with the fort
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HISTORY OF MASSAC COUNTY
as entry, became a real factor in the trade of the west; and in 1801 the district was extended to the basin of the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. All boats carrying goods to market were obliged to re- port at the fort, and from the inventories of cargoes, it is learned that a considerable amount of mer- chandise was passing up and down the Ohio." (21)
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