USA > Illinois > Illinois, historical and statistical, comprising the essential facts of its planting and growth as a province, county, territory, and state, Vol. I > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51
* Law's "Vincennes."
157
CAPTURE OF VINCENNES.
Colonel Clarks Complements to mr_ Hamilton and begs have to inform him that C. Clark will not agree to any Other Terms than that of his Hamilton's Surewering himself and Garrison, Prisoners at Discretion
Of M. Hamilton is Desirvis of a Conferencia with Gblarks he will _ meet him at the Church with faith
they 2 :179-
[From Winsor's " America," Vol. VI.]
The conference which followed resulted in the acceptance of the terms of capitulation proposed by Col. Clark. Seventy-nine prisoners were surrendered, and stores valued at $50,000. The casualties were, one of Clark's men and six of the British wounded. Gov. Hamilton was sent as a prisoner to Williams- burg, and was exchanged March 4, 1781 .*
* Gov. Henry Hamilton was appointed governor of Quebec in 1785, and after- ward governor of Dominica. He died at Antigua in 1796.
Authorities : Dillon's " Historical Notes"; Clark's "Campaign in the Illinois," published by R. Clarke & Co .; "Canadian Archives "; Reynolds' "Pioneer History of Illinois "; Michigan " Pioneer Collections", Vol. IX; " Magazine of Western History," Vol. III; Winsor's "America, " Vol. VI and Chap. IX therein, by W. F. Poole, LL.D .; "Memoirs of Capt. Matthew Phelps," by A. Haswell; "American Archives," Series 4, Vol. I; " Colonial History of New York "; " Virginia State Papers, " Vol. I.
CHAPTER X.
The County of Illinois-Officers and Government-La-
Balme's and Brady's Expeditions-Attack on St. Louis and Cahokia-The Spanish Expedition against St. Joseph-Fort Jefferson-Close of the War and Ter- mination of Virginia Control.
T HE importance of the brilliant success which crowned the well-laid and ably-executed plans of Col. Clark can hardly be over-estimated. A well-appointed British garrison remaining in possession of Vincennes might have rendered impossible the retention by the Americans of the captured posts in the Illinois. But in the hands of the "big-knives," whose valor the Indians had learned to respect, the situation was reversed and the con- quest of the territory rendered comparatively secure .*
The results of Clark's brief but arduous campaigns were far- reaching. The importance of the conquest from a military and strategic point of view was readily recognized and appreciated. But the issue of the expedition was fraught with consequences of a weightier-even of an international character. These Thomas Jefferson was quick to perceive, and that sagacious statesman in a letter to Clark, written about the date of the inception of the expedition, after signifying his approbation of the scheme, says: "If successful, it will have an important bearing ultimately upon our northwestern boundary." Time justified the correctness of the prediction. Had the under- taking never been conceived, or had it failed, American posses- sion and control of the great Northwest might never have been realized, and the treaty of 1783 might have named as the west- ern boundary of the new nation the ridge of the Alleghanies rather than the channel of the Mississippi.
The Mississippi Valley lying north of the Ohio was claimed by Virginia under and by virtue of ancient charters. The re-
* The Virginia House of Delegates manifested their appreciation of Col. Clark's services by tendering him a unanimous vote of thanks; and later he and his com- mand received more substantial reward in the donation of a tract of 150,000 acres of land.
158
0
Predica Long
Will Kenny Haritas
cliente.
FD. MONTGOMERY.
159
COUNTY OF ILLINOIS ESTABLISHED.
ceipt at Williamsburg of official reports of the reduction of the British forts within this territory, inasmuch as it had been effected by Virginia enterprise and valor, was regarded by the general assembly of the commonwealth as a ground for the enforce- ment of such claims. The house of delegates accordingly pro- ceeded to extend civil jurisdiction over that country, in October, 1778, by enacting a law establishing the county of Illinois, containing the following provisions: "The citizens of the com- monwealth of Virginia who are already settled or shall hereafter settle on the western side of the Ohio shall be included in a distinct county which shall be called Illinois County; and the governor of this commonwealth, with the advice of the council, may appoint a county-lieutenant or commandant-in-chief of that county during pleasure, who shall take the oath of fidelity to this commonwealth and the oath of office according to the form of their own religion. And all civil offices to which the inhabitants have been accustomed, necessary for the preserva- tion of the peace and the administration of justice, shall be chosen by a majority of the citizens in their respective districts, to be convened for that purpose by the county-lieutenant or . commandant, or his deputy, and shall be commissioned by said county-lieutenant."
In pursuance of the above provisions, Patrick Henry, then governor of Virginia, and who thus became ex-officio the first governor of Illinois, appointed Col. John Todd of Kentucky County, the commandant of the county of Illinois. Together with h's commission the governor sent Col. Todd a letter of instructions containing statesman-like suggestions regard- ing the course to be pursued by his appointee. Among other things, he said: "The present crisis rendered favorable by the good disposition of the French and Indians may be im- proved to great purposes; but if, unhappily, it should be lost, a return of the same attachments to us may never happen. Considering, therefore, that early prejudices are so hard to wear out, you will take care to cultivate the affections of the French and Indians." As the head of the civil department, Col. Todd was to have the command of the militia, "who are not to be under command of the military until ordered out by the civil authority and to act in conjunction with them." The governor
160
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
advised that on all occasions he should impress upon the people the value of liberty and the difference between the state of free citizenship to which the inhabitants of the Illinois were destined and that of slavery; and that a free and equal representation and improved jurisprudence was to be guaranteed them.
Col. Todd, who was thus authorized to inaugurate the genesis of republican institutions and civil government in Illinois, was a Pennsylvanian by birth, a lawyer by profession, and a patriotic military leader in the county of his residence. His appointment was dated Dec. 12, 1778, but he did not arrive at Kaskaskia and enter upon the discharge of his duties until May of the following year. On May 14, the militia was organized, com- missions being issued to Richard Winston as deputy comman- dant of Kaskaskia, and to Nicholas Janis and Joseph Duplassy as captains of companies. On May 17, François Trottier was commissioned as deputy commandant of Cahokia, and Jean Bte. Barbeau to hold the same position at Prairie du Rocher.
Having discharged these preliminary duties, Col. Todd pro- ceeded to carry out another important instruction of Gov. Henry by ordering an election of civil officers, including the members of courts at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, which should have both civil and criminal jurisdiction. The election held under this order was the first exercise of the elective franchise in Illinois. The officers chosen, with one exception, were either by birth or descent, French .* The lack of persons qualified to fill the few offices vacant, a want which in modern days is never long felt, rendered it unavoidable that in some cases the same incumbent should fill at the same time both a civil and a military position. Richard Winston-who held the office of sheriff by election, in addition to filling other posts, appointive in their character- is the only name on the list of elective officeholders not of French origin.
Thus were started the wheels of government by whose revo-
* Members of the court elected at Kaskaskia: Gabriel Cerré, Joseph Duplassy, Jacques Lesource, Nicholas Janis, Jean Bte. Barbeau, Nicholas LeChanie, Charles Charleville, Antoine 1). de Louvieres, - Girradot; - Carbonneaux, clerk; Rich- ard Winston, sheriff. At Cahokia, - Touranjeau (Michael Godin), François Trottier, Charles Gratiot, Antoine Gioradin, Jean Bte. Saucier, Jean Beaulieu, P. Marthin; François Saucier, clerk; J. B. LeCroix, sheriff .- "Col. John Todd's Rec- ord-Book."
161
COUNTY OF ILLINOIS.
lutions a practical knowledge of the forms necessary to the establishment of a free republic was substituted for those of monarchy. Experience proved, however, that the privileges of citizenship had been extended to those who appreciated neither its value nor its responsibilities.
The next questions which occupied the attention of Col. Todd related to the public lands and the regulation of trade. To prevent the taking up of large tracts by speculators he issued a proclamation enjoining all persons from making any new settlements of lands, and requiring the exhibition to duly- appointed commissioners of the evidences of title by those already in possession. Licenses to erect factories and stores and traffic in general merchandise were granted under care- ful restrictions. Perceiving the rapid depreciation in the value of continental currency, the commandant evolved a plan for the creation and floating of a new circulating medium some- what in the nature of land-script, but the scheme eventually came to naught. He next visited Vincennes, where similar proceedings were instituted. Returning to Kaskaskia, July 27, he found that the lately-elected judges had met and adjourned their court to a distant date. It was an easy method to get rid of a system of jurisprudence which was at once new and distasteful to the inhabitants. This adjournment the comman- dant refused to sanction, and issued his order convening the courts, reprimanding the judges for their neglect of duty and impressing upon them the importance of regular sessions.
Early in August, obedient to the instructions of Gov. Henry, Col. Todd forwarded a communication to the Spanish comman- dants at Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis, proposing the establish- ment of commercial relations between the governments of Spain and Virginia, and offering military assistance in case it should be needed .*
The old record-book of Col. Todd, now in possession of the Chicago Historical Society, which is the principal authority for the above-cited facts, contains one page which affords a singular commentary upon the cruelty, ignorance, and super- stition of this early period. This is the minute of the capital condemnation of a negro slave named Manuel for some crime
* E. G. Mason's "Illinois in the Eighteenth Century."
II
162
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
not specified, but which, from other evidence, is supposed to have been what was then, as now, called voudouism, or negro witchcraft. The order of the commandant to the sheriff who was required to execute the sentence was that he "be chained to a post at the water side and there be burnt alive and his ashes scattered." On the original entry heavy lines have been drawn through this portion of the record, which fact, let us hope, indicates that the barbarous order was revoked. Gov. Reynolds in his " Pioneer History," second edition, page 175, says that a negro of this name was shot at Cahokia for this offense.
Commandant Todd having been appointed colonel of a Vir- ginia regiment, left the county of Illinois the latter part of 1779, and there is no accessible evidence showing that he ever again returned. Henceforward he was actively engaged in military operations, fulfilling his duties as commandant of Illinois County as well as distance and other calls upon him would permit. Through Col. Clark and others he endeavored to keep himself advised of the situation, and frequently corresponded with the governor of Virginia in regard to the affairs of the county.
After the departure of the commandant, Col. John Mont- gomery was assigned, Aug. 5, 1779, to the command of the military department of the Illinois, with headquarters at Kas- kaskia. The officers in command of detachments under him were "at Fort Clark, Capt. John Williams, to be joined by Capt. Worthington's company; at Kaskaskia, Capt. Shelby, to be joined by Capts. Taylor and Kellar's companies; at Cahokia, Capt. Richard McCarty in command, to be joined by Capt. Quirk's company." Maj. Joseph Bowman was assigned to the recruiting service and Capt. L. Helm made Indian agent at Kaskaskia, while Capt. Linetot was ordered to duty along the Illinois River .*
Since the capture of Vincennes, the loss of which was severely felt by the British, an attack upon the Illinois villages had been constantly threatened and feared. As an offset to a proposed expedition of Col. Clark against Detroit, Maj. de Peyster, Brit- ish commander at Mackinac, in July, directed Capt. Charles Langlade to arouse the Indians on Lake Michigan and join Lieut. Thomas Bennett, who was in command of one hundred
* " Virginia State Papers," I, 324.
163
BRITISH PLANS TO RETAKE ILLINOIS.
regulars at Chicago, for the purpose of making an attack upon the Illinois towns. He succeeded in raising a force of two hundred savages, but upon learning that Clark had abandoned his proposed expedition he returned to his post.
In March, 1780, Col. Clark, who was kept well advised of these movements, writes to Col. Todd that he much fears that the efforts of the British to regain the favor of the Indians and retake Illinois will succeed. And what is very singular, he further states that he is "not clear but the Spaniards would favorably suffer these [Illinois] settlements to fall into British hands for the sake of having an opportunity to retake them."*
It will be remembered that that portion of the Illinois district lying west of the Mississippi which formerly belonged to France now belonged to Spain, and that St. Louis was its chef-lieu or capital. The Spanish government was at this time the ally of the United States and the avowed foe of Great Britain, having declared war against that power on May 8, 1779. It would seem to have been the interest of the Spaniards, as friendly neighbors of the colonies on their eastern border, to act in unison with them and against the assaults of the common foe. Gov. Henry, as has been pointed out, had been particular to enjoin such a policy upon the commandant of Illinois. But, as will be seen hereafter, the suspicion of the watchful and saga- cious Clark was fully justified by the event.
In June, 1779, one month after the Spanish declaration of war, Gen. Fred. Haldimand, then governor of Canada, acting under instructions of the home government, of which Lord Germaine was the head, prepared to organize an attack upon the Spanish posts along the Mississippi. A military force was to be despatched from Pensacola under Gen. John Campbell, then in command of the British garrison there, and all the north- western governors were instructed by secret circular letters to cooperate with the movement. At this time the Spanish governor at New Orleans, Col. Don Bernardo de Galvez, a youthful officer-scarcely twenty-five-whose sagacity was equal to his valor, having learned through intercepted letters the in- tentions of the British, determined boldly to anticipate the contemplated assault by becoming himself the attacking party.
"Virginia State Papers, " I, 338.
164
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Accordingly, in September, he started from New Orleans with six hundred and seventy troops on an expedition to capture the enemy's posts at Fort Manchac and Baton Rouge. Both points fell into his hands. He followed up these successes by promptly marching upon Natchez, the capitulation of which was likewise secured.
Five months after the occurrence of these events, in Feb., 1780, Capt. Patrick Sinclair, who had succeeded Maj. Arent Schuyler de Peyster in the command of the British troops at Mackinac, was busily engaged in organizing a force of Indians, whom, with a detachment of white troops, it was his intention to despatch to Natchez in order to cooperate with Gen. Campbell. While such cooperation was the ultimate object of the movement, Capt. Sinclair proposed, under instructions from Gov. Haldi- mand, to deal the American rebels a crushing blow on the way. Cahokia and Kaskaskia were to be reduced and also the Spanish posts at St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve. The former had been popularly known as Paincourt-colloquially abbreviated to Pan- core, and the latter Misere. Sinclair had received information to the effect that St. Louis was protected only by a garrison of "twenty men and twenty brass cannon." He supposed that the capture of the posts named would be less difficult than holding them afterward. The expedition started on May 2; according to Capt. Sinclair's statement, it was composed of seven hundred and fifty men, including servants, Indians, traders, and twenty Canadian volunteers. Capt. Hesse was in command, but the aboriginal contingent was directly controlled by Chief Wabasha. The former was ordered to remain at St. Louis, while the latter was to assault Ste. Genevieve and Kaskaskia.
All unconscious of the fact that the brilliant successes of Gov. Galvez had long before resulted in the transfer of Natchez to the Spanish power, Capt. Sinclair impressed upon Capt. Hesse the imperative necessity of pressing forward to that point with all possible despatch. With sublime faith in his success and a watchful eye toward resulting necessities in the way of subsist- ence, he thus outlined his plans in an official communication to Haldimand: "The two lower villages of the Illinois were to be laid under contribution for the support of the different garrisons
165
ATTACK ON ST. LOUIS.
and the two upper villages to supply LaBay with cattle to feed the Indians."* On May 26, 1780, the expedition arrived before St. Louis and prepared to make its attack.
In the meantime, Col. Clark, who was at the Falls of the Ohio, had been informed, both by Montgomery and Capt. Fer- dinand de Leyba, lieutenant-governor of St. Louis, of the im- pending invasion, and with a small force arrived at Cahokia only twenty-four hours before the appearance of the enemy.+
The conflicting reports of the affair which followed afford a striking illustration of the difficulties attending nearly every effort to arrive at the truth regarding these early engagements on the border. Gov. Reynolds in his account says that the raid was incited by one Ducharme in revenge for personal injuries inflicted on him as a trader, and that his force numbered fifteen hundred men; and that, having killed "as many as appeased his wrath, he withdrew his red warriors and abandoned the mas- sacre." Stoddard, in his "Sketches of Louisiana," says sixty were killed and thirty prisoners were taken.# Local writers at St. Louis, however, concur in the statement that the attack was made in the forenoon at an early hour and not then expected; that the village was without defensive works of any kind; that those who were killed were shot in the fields, the enemy not approaching within three-fourths of a mile of the post; that certainly not more than seven or eight of the villagers lost their lives, all but two of whom were buried the same afternoon, their names appearing in the church register; that none of them were scalped; that but few were taken prisoners, and that there was no destruction of property.§ Col. John Montgomery re- ports that, "finding they [the invading force] were likely to be disappointed in their designs, they returned after doing some mischief on the Spanish shore which we would have prevented if, unfortunately, the high wind had not prevented the signals being heard."
* " Michigan Pioneer Collection,“ IX, 546, 558.
+ "Virginia State Papers, " III, p. 443.
# The discrepancy between historians as to the date of the occurrence is almost as great as is the divergence in their respective accounts of its results. They fix it variously as May 6, 1778, Judge Hall; May, 1779, Primm; May 6, 1780, Nicollet. § O. W. Collet MS., 1888.
166
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Now contrast the foregoing with the report of the redoubtable Capt. Sinclair to Gen. Haldimand: "The two first of the Indian nations [Winnebagoes and Sioux] would have stormed the Span- ish lines if the Sacs and Outigamies, under their treacherous leader Mons. Calvé, had not fallen back so early as to give them well-grounded suspicion that they were between two fires. A Mons. Ducharme and others who traded in the country kept pace with Mons. Calvé in his perfidity. The attack, unsuccessful as it was, will still have its good consequences. The Winneba- goes had a chief and three men killed and four wounded-the only sufferers. The rebels lost an officer and three men killed at Cahokia, and five prisoners. At Pancore, sixty-eight were killed and eighteen black and white people made prisoners. Many hundreds of cattle were destroyed and forty-three scalps are brought in."* In weighing this report of the captain, it must not be forgotten that it emanated from the head-quarters of an unsuccessful commandant. That his statement of losses inflicted upon the enemy was exaggerated to meet the exigen- cies of the occasion, does not admit of any doubt.
The Hesse-Wabasha expedition made much better time in returning than it had done in going; the speed of the retreat- ing Indians being accelerated by the close proximity of Col. Montgomery with a force of three hundred and fifty men, including a party of Spanish allies, who followed them to Peoria lake and thence to Rock River, destroying their towns and crops on the way. No amount of provocation was suffi- cient to induce the fugitives to make a stand for the purpose of giving battle. The lesson taught by this fiasco was not lost upon the Indians, and they bore it in mind when efforts were subsequently made to incite them to attack Illinois, and ex- hibited a preference for an expedition in some other direction.
In order to divert attention from the expedition of Capt. Hesse and his Indian allies, Capt. Henry Bird was despatched from Detroit by Maj. de Peyster in May, 1780, with a force of one hundred and fifty whites and one thousand Indians, with two field-pieces, to invade Kentucky, the fitting out of which expe- dition involved an outlay of over $200,000.+ As soon as Col.
* " Michigan Pioneer Collection," IX, 559.
+ Farmer's " History of Detroit," 260. "Michigan Pioneer Collection," III, 25.
167
FORT JEFFERSON.
Clark had been assured of the precipitate flight of the motley company which had undertaken the reduction of St. Louis, he directed his attention to the force from Detroit. Hastening to Kentucky, he quickly recruited one thousand volunteers. Bird appears to have taken alarm, and after storming two unimpor- tant stockades retreated, manifesting no disposition to encoun- ter the Americans on an open field. By way of reprisal for this inroad, Clark silently swept down upon the Indian villages north of the Ohio, thereby at once retaliating upon the invaders and diverting their attention to the support of their savage allies.
The original conception of the plan of campaign by Lord Germaine, above outlined, was brilliant in design and bid fair to prove a success. Had not the rapidity and daring of Gov. Galvez forestalled its execution by preventing the union of the northern and southern divisions of the pro- posed army, it is difficult to say what might have been the ultimate issue of the war of the Revolution .* As it was, how- ever, the Spanish commander at New Orleans unintentionally rendered to the infant colonies the most valuable aid. The British advance was checked before it had fairly begun, and the raids of captains Hesse and Bird were the last organized at- tempts to regain the country of the Illinois or to capture the Spanish posts along the Mississippi.
In March, 1780, Col. Clark, foreseeing the probability of British inroads, addressed a letter to Col. Todd recommend- ing the withdrawal of the troops from the outlying posts in the Illinois country and their concentration at a point known as the Iron Banks, on the east bank of the Mississippi, just below the junction of the Ohio with that river. On June 2, Col. Todd submitted this recommendation, with his endorsement, to the governor of Virginia. The proposition was approved by the general assembly, and the new post was named Fort Jef- ferson, in honor of the then governor of that commonwealth.+ Grants of four hundred acres of land were made to heads of families in order to invite and stimulate immigration, and com- missions freely issued to volunteer officers, with a view to re- cruiting the ranks of the militia.
* The author acknowledges his indebtedness to Dr. W. F. Poole for directing his attention to the authorities relating to the intended Campbell expedition.
+ "Virginia State Papers," Vol. I, 358, 360.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.