USA > Indiana > Knox County > Vincennes > History of Old Vincennes and Knox County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 23
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The situation of the Ouabash Indians is very favorable for this design, to which all the parties you sent out from Detroit would also contribute best, as it appears to me, by acting in concert with those, as they might together fill all the lower parts of the Ohio with bodies of savages that such constantly succeeds each other, and at no time leave the river without a force which would be ready to fall upon all the rebels that appear there," etc. Commenting on the letter in full, from which only excerpts are here given, Mr. English says: "It will be seen that this letter recommends not only that the Wabash Indians 'be induced to undertake expeditions to clear all the Illinois of these invaders' (Clark's forces) but that such a union of various Indian tribes should be secured as would fill the Ohio river border with savages, 'ready to fall upon all the rebels that appear there.' Here was a proposal for destruction by the wholesale! Even on the line claimed by Hamilton that the Indians were advised to be humane it amounted to this in substance, that all the rebels appearing on the Ohio were to be killed after the Indian fashion-but with humanity. The wrong was the employment of savages for such purposes at all. well know- ing that under certain circumstances it was impossible to restrain them
*Canadian Archives-Haldimand Papers, B., 122, p. 26, and B. 122, p. 156.
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from brutal barbarities utterly inconsistent with warfare between civilized peoples .* The contrast between the British officers and Colonel Clark, who refused to employ the Indians against his white enemies, must ever stand to his credit in the estimation of posterity. When he had Hamilton 'shut up like a rat in a trap' at Fort Sackville, and it was not certain but an assault on the fort would be resorted to, Tobacco, son of a chief of the Piankeshaws, offered the assistance of a hundred of his tribe, but Clark, in an adroit manner, avoided accepting the offer. On another oc- casion, when Indian assistance was offered by Lajes, another Indian chief, Clark replied, 'We never wished the Indians to fight for us; all we wished them to do was for them to sit still and look on.'t His fame is not tarnished with setting a savage and heathen race against a civilized and Christian people."
Hamilton was an ambitious soldier, as well as a merciless warrior-a valiant fighter and ungenerous victor-and plied the nefarious business of buying scalps in whatever section of country his military duties called him. Having been rather successful in his operations in and around Detroit, and more than gratified at the wholesale slaughter of the innocents by his bands of red marauders on the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia, he was planning to march against Fort Pitt, when news of the fall of Kas- kaskia, the capture of his pet. Mr. Rochblave, and, later on, the reduction of Post Vincennes, reached him. His great chagrin at this turn of affairs in the Illinois and Wabash countries was heightened all the more when he learned that the inhabitants at two of the most important British posts in the Northwest Territory, excepting Detroit, had foresworn allegiance to Great Britain and even taken up arms against His Britannic Majesty. He forthwith sent Frenchmen friendly to British interests into these locali- ties to win back the inhabitants to the British cause and to incite the In- dians to make war on the American soldiers and settlers that had come into the country from Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky, and began im- mediately preparations for an expedition into the Illinois and Wabash countries. And again Clark felt his position becoming more perilous. While the Piankeshaw Indians were disposed to remain friendly towards him, the Kickapoos and Weas signified a willingness, in consideration of numerous presents, and the assurance of the support of British arms, to violate the obligations of their late treaty, and sally forth on forays of murder and pillage. The Miamis were quite as easily persuaded to take up arms against the Big Knives, to whom, a few months before, they swore eternal friendship; and nearly all the other tribes, especially in the lake regions, were lured by British blandishments and bought by British gold to turn against their best friends and massacre the women and children of
*Wm. H. English, Conquest of the Northwest, p. 222.
tClark's Memoir.
#Wm. H. English, Conquest of the Northwest, p. 223
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a people who were disposed to treat them humanely and just. The French, however, were not as susceptible as the Indians to the entreaties of the British, although Clark had slight misgivings as to their ability to stand firm against the further overtures likely to be made by the enemy to win them over.
It was on August 8, 1778, that Governor Hamilton was informed by a messenger named Francois Masonville, that Clark had taken Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and several smaller settlements, in the Illinois country, and that his men (the "rebels") were advancing towards Vincennes, in the Wabash country. It took the Hair-Buyer General just two months, lacking one day, from the receipt of the foregoing intelligence, to fit out his expedition. During the preliminary steps toward shaping ends "he led the main body in person," says Colonel Roosevelt* in his Winning of the West, "and throughout September every soul in Detroit was busy from morning until night in mending boats, baking biscuits, packing provisions in kegs and bags, preparing artillery stores, and in every way making ready for the expedition. Fifteen large bateaux and pirogues were procured, each capable of carrying from 1,800 to 3,000 pounds; these were to carry the ammuni- tion, food, clothing, tents, and especially the presents for the Indians. Cattle and wheels were sent ahead to the most important portages on the route that would be traversed; a six-pounder gun was also forwarded. Hamilton had been deeply exasperated by what he regarded as the treach- ery of most of the Illinois and Wabash Creoles in joining the Americans ; but he was in high spirits and very confident of success. He wrote to his superior officer that the British were to succeed if they acted promptly, for the Indians were favorable to them, knowing they alone could give them supplies; and he added: 'the Spaniards are feeble and hated by the French, the French are fickle and have no man of capacity to advise or lead them, and the Rebels are enterprising and brave, but want resources.'t The bulk of the Detroit French, including all their leaders, remained staunch supporters of the crown, and the militia eagerly volunteered to go on the expedition. Feasts were held with the Ottawas, Chippewas and Potta- wattomics, at which oxen were roasted whole, while Hamilton and the Chief of the French Rangers sang the war-song in solemn council, and received pledges of armed assistance and support from the savages."
It was in the early dawn of a hazy morning, October 7, 1778, at De- troit, when General Hamilton, with a force of one hundred and eighty men, including English regulars, militiamen, volunteers and Indians, "drew up" his flotilla, received divine blessing from the venerable Catholic priest, Father Pere Potier, and coursed down the Detroit river. As the shades of evening began to gather in the east, the wind shifted to the north, and when darkness fell a terrific blizzard accompanied with a biting snow,
*Theodore Roosevelt, The Winning of the West, pp. 202, 203.
tHamilton to Haldimand, September 23, October 3, 1778.
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found the party, who had "traversed" its course. on Lake Michigan, five miles from the mouth of the Maumee, the objective point. The crossing was attended with great danger and difficulty, but was accomplished with- out loss of life; and the men, deprived of fires or tents, spent the first night out on the cold and wet ground, not far from the mouth of the Mau- mee. Proceeding up the last named stream, the army arrived at the rapids on October IIth, and thirteen days later pulled up at Quiatenon, (Fort Wayne) where they were joined by a large number of Indians from various tribes, whose services had been previously engaged. The red men were overwhelmed with handsome presents, bestowed by the late arrivals, and readily consented to send messengers to the Shawnees and other nations along the route to join Hamilton, or at least, in the language of the Hair- Buyer General, "watch the motions of the rebels on the frontiers, for which purpose I sent them ammunition."
Travel on the Maumee was necessarily slow and irksome, as the river was at a very low stage, and particularly shallow from Miamitown (Quiatenon) to the deeper waters of the Wabash. After passing the por- tage of nine miles, which brought the army to Petite Riviere, one of the sources of the Wabash, the waters were so uncommonly low that had not the industrious beaver been busy in that locality the boats would have never been able to make the passage. About four miles above the landing place, however, the beavers had constructed a complete dam, which kept up the water, and up to this embankment it was "smooth sailing." Putting the bows of the boats against the dam, the same was cut in order to admit of passage through. It was due solely to the beavers that this portion of the stream was made navigable, and for that reason these valuable ani- mals, led by nature to repair the dam as often as it was cut by voyageurs, were never molested by either the white or red trappers and hunters. Passing on to the swamp of Les Volets, the fleet entered La Riviere Boete, a very small stream joining the beaver-dammed river, where it was found necessary to dam both rivers in order to back the water into the swamp, after which the dykes were cut and permitted the craft to pass through in safety. Similar difficulties were encountered at the Riviere a l'Anglais, at which point the damming process had to be renewed. Once on the Wabash. progress was impeded by the frosts lowering the water lines, floating ice interfering with the men as they worked in the water to haul the boats over shoals and rocks; "and our bateaux," says Hamilton, "were dam- aged and had to be repeatedly unloaded, caulked and paved; ninety-seven thousand pounds of provisions and stores to be carried by the men, in which the Indians assisted cheerfully when the boats were to be lightened. It was sometimes a day's work to get the distance of a half league. It was necessary to stop frequently at the Indian villages to have conference with them, furnish them with necessaries, and engage a few to accompany us. At length we got into a good depth of water, a fall of rain having
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raised the river; this advantage was succeeded by fresh difficulties, the frost becoming so intense as to freeze the river quite across."
While Hamilton's march was longer and productive of many disagree- able features, when compared to the hardships and sufferings endured in Clark's march from Kaskaskia, it bears about the same relation to the latter as a rolling pebble to the side of Himalaya. Hamilton, however, had lots of trouble, and fought courageously against innumerable obstacles, eventually overcoming them all. When within a few days' journey of Vincennes, his advanced guards ran on to a scouting party-a lieutenant and three men-which had been sent out from Fort Sackville by Captain Helm to look out for the approach of the enemy, and made them prisoners. Helm, however, was not aware of the presence of the British troops in this immediate locality until they got within a few miles of the town. He thereupon wrote a letter to Clark, apprising him of the fact, and despatched the same with a trusty messenger, who was killed by Hamilton's Indians and the letter intercepted. The letter (a copy of which was enclosed in a letter written by Hamilton December 18th and marked December 25th) is part of the Canadian Archives, and is printed in the Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, (vol. i, p. 226) edited by H. W. Beckwith. It reads :
"Dr. Sir :- At this time there is an army within three miles of this place. 1 heard of their comin several days beforehand, I sent spies to find the certainty, the spies being taken prisoners, I never got intelligence till they got within 3 miles of the town, as I had called the militia & had all assurance of their integrity I ordered, at the fireing of a Cannon, every man to appear, but I saw but few. Capt. Buseron be- haved much to his honour & credit but I doubt the certaint (conduct) of a certain gent. Excuse haste as the army is in sight. My determination is to defend the Gar- rison though I have but 21 men but wh't has lef me. I referr you to Mr. Wm. for the test. The army is in three hundred y'd of village, you must think how I feel, not four men that I can really depend on, but am determined to act brave; think of my condition I know its out of my power to defend the town as not one of the militia will take arms thoug before sight of the army no braver men than. Their is a flag at a small distance. I must conclud
"Yr humble servt
"To Col. Clark.
"LE'OD HELM. "Must stop."
In the foregoing letter, Captain Helm, without the least attempt at braggadocio, illustrates that he was not only a man of determination, but a valorous and brave soldier, ready to defend his position against the enemy notwithstanding he had full knowledge that his defeat was inevitable. Ac- cordingly he had a cannon planted at the entrance to the fort, loaded to the mouth, and "not four men he could really depend upon," to extend General Hamilton greeting-truly, a complement not likely to terrorize the mildest of invading hosts.
After a march (and voyage) of over six hundred miles, to accomplish which required seventy-one days, on December 18, 1778, Hamilton entered Vincennes at the head of his forces, which at this time had increased to
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five or six hundred, mostly Indians. The sight of the Hair-Buyer General and the great number of his troops, and especially the red-coated English soldiers, struck terror to the hearts of the natives. The boasted bravery of the Creole militia, who had been loud in their declarations of fealty to the American cause, seemed to desert them instanter, and one by one they slipped away to surrender their arms to the British. Helm was practically left all alone, and Hamilton knew it full well when he marshaled his forces and marched towards the fort for an attack. When Hamilton arrived at the gate he found Helm beside the cannon, with a lighted fuse in hand, ready to fire the weapon. "Halt!" exclaimed Helm, addressing Hamilton ; "no man shall enter here until I know the terms." The reply came back, "You shall have the honors of war." "Then," rejoined Helm, "I surrender the fort on that condition." Immediately upon its surrender, the Indians broke into the fort and plundered it. and began to terrorize and rob the inhabitants. Old Vincennes had again fallen into the hands of the British. The French inhabitants, who were not disposed to take issue with either side, feeling more kindly towards the Americans perhaps, were forced, under duress, to assume an attitude repulsive to their convictions and attachments .* However, they went to the little church-the same one in which four months before, at the behest of Father Gibault, they had taken the oath of fidelity to America-and swore allegiance to Great Britian. The arms they had previously surrendered were returned and they avowed themselves as soldiers of the British King. Clark, on learning later of the turn affairs had taken, manifested but little surprise, for he had felt all along the strong aversion of the Frenchman to be on the minority side would assert itself as soon as the English forces showed a superiority in numbers and adopted coercive methods to secure subjects.
Hamilton, therefore, had nothing to fear from the inhabitants, even had they been inclined towards hostility, for the fort virtually commanded the town; and he immediately installed himself as supreme dictator of the community and began to issue orders. His first move against the natives was to "take up all the spirituous liquors in the place, which is better surety for their good behavior, and a more beloved hostage than wife or child." The next step he took-which certainly appears at this late day and date as an incredulous thing-was to destroy two billiard tables, which, hie declared were "sources of immorality and dissipation in such a settle- ment." And, in the letter to Governor Haldimand, conveying the forego- ing information, he concludes that if he could "catch the priest, Mr. Gibault, who has blown the trumpet of rebellion for the Americans, I should send him
*Several days before Hamilton's arrival at Vincennes he says "Major Hay was detached with orders to fall down the river, and sent to the principal inhabitants of St. Vincennes acquainting them that unless they quitted the rebels and laid down their arms there was no mercy for them. Some chiefs accompanied him to conciliate the Peau Kashaa Indians residing at St. Vincennes, and to show the French what they might except if they pretended to resist."
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down unhurt to Your Excellency, to get the reward for his zeal," * thus unintentionally paying the good Father a high compliment and bringing the holy man closer to the hearts of loyal Americans, for the only offense of which he was guilty in the eyes of the blood-thirsty British officer was in showing his unfaltering devotion to America and the principles for which that nation stood.
Immediately upon taking possession thereof-as has been shown in a previous chapter-Hamilton began extensive alterations and improve- ments on the fort. He at once sent to Mr. Stewart, the British agent of Indian affairs in the southwest, a number of letters, proposing that early in the spring a meeting be held at either Vincennes, or the Cherokee river, for the purpose of reconciling the southern Indians with the Shawnees and other nations, with a view of making a concerted and general invasion of the frontiers. In fact, he had determined on putting in the winter formu- lating plans for the spring campaign. Had he decided, while commanding a force of five or six hundred men, to have left a sufficient number at Vincennes, to maintain the garrison and protect the post from the invasion of foes or the overt acts of disloyal people, and pushed on to the Illinois country with the remainder of his troops, there is no doubt but that he could have succeeded in dislodging Clark and Bowman and wresting Kas- kaskia and Cahokia from the grasp of the Americans. It is fortunate for Clark that Hamilton did not make this move. Had he done so, there is no doubt that he would have succeeded in regaining for England the whole of the Illinois country.f And, again, the question presents itself, where (in that event) would be the western and northern boundaries of our common country today? At this time Clark had no definite knowledge of the strength of Hamilton's forces; indeed, he had no idea that the Hair- Buyer General was in full possession of Vincennes, or anywhere near it. He, however, realized that his own troops were too few to engage an army, but determined on holding the Illinois country that year at any and all hazards; but to retain his hold beyond that period, unless provided with reinforcements, he had faint hope, as indicated in a letter to Governor Henry in which he says that "I think I shall keep His Excellency out of possession of it this year ; as for the next you are the best judge."
*Illinois Historical Collections, Vol. i. p. 234.
+If Hamilton had at once pushed forward and attacked Clark at Kaskaskia, there is no doubt the Americans must either have succumbed or retired beyond the Mis- sissippi into Spanish territory. But in the midwinter the way was filled with great difficulties for the advance of an army column, hampered with baggage. Hamilton therefore remained at Vincennes, allowed all but some eighty or ninety whites and a hundred Indians to return home, and spent the time planning for a great spring canı- paign against the Illinois, in which he proposed to batter down the forts with cannon, and then turning southward make a clean sweep of the Kentucky stations. Had he succeeded in this bold project, all American settlements west of the Alleghenies would have been destroyed, and the United States might have lost the West forever .- [ Reu- ben Gold Thwaites, How George Rogers Clark Won the Northwest, p. 42] Vol. I-13
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Clark received no news concerning the recapture of Vincennes for more than a month following the event. He had not, in fact, heard any- thing of Hamilton's movements since the latter reached Miamitown, (Fort Wayne) but surmised that his expedition was headed towards the Illinois country, and he accordingly left Kaskaskia early in January for Cahokia, for the purpose of conferring with the inhabitants of the latter place rela- tive to the defense of the settlements .; He was accompanied on the journey by his "guard of about six or seven men and a few gentlemen in chairs," who narrowly escaped being ambushed, three miles out of Kaskaskia, by a party of "40 savages headed by white men," whom Hamilton had sent out from Vincennes to take Clark prisoner, having given them "such instruc- tion for my treatment as did him no dishonor." Having encountered a variety of obstacles en route the evening shades found the party no further advanced on the journey than Prairie du Rocher, about fifteen miles out of Kaskaskia, to the northwest. The gay villagers were in the midst of a ball, to which Clark had been invited, and had just become imbued with the spirit of the occasion when a messenger rushed up to him with the startling intelligence that Hamilton, with eight hundred men, was within three miles of Kaskaskia. In describing this incident, Clark says that he never saw greater confusion among a small assembly than was manifest at this time; and that every person in the room set their eyes on him, as though a word from him would "determine their good or evil fate." With a coolness, almost approaching indifference, he gave orders for his horses to be harnessed for the return to Kaskaskia, and calmly remarked to the terrified company, that he hoped they would not allow the news to "spoil our diversion sooner than was necessary; that we would divert ourselves until our horses were ready;" and, further, he adds, "I forced them to dance, and endeavoured to appear as unconcerned as if no such thing was in adjutation."
On his arrival at Kaskaskia Clark found the French inhabitants greatly agitated, fearing every moment would bring Hamilton's invading hosts into their midst. Having by this time acquired knowledge of the great strength of Hamilton's army, as compared with Clark's, the Creoles felt that their only safety lay in affecting neutrality, or in veering over to the side of the British, whom they feared would-unless they did so-show them no mercy for having taken up American arms. Clark was again in a trying position, which required the exercise of tact and talent, and he displayed both, by professing ignorance of his Frenchmen's fears, and moved about as though he felt himself fully capable of coping with the British army. And this attitude had a tendency to bolster up the faith of his lukewarm followers. He ordered Major Bowman to evacuate the fort at Cahokia and join him at Kaskaskia; set fire to several houses around the fort, in order to gain a clear field, and made every preparation possible
tReuben Gold Thwaites.
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for the reception of the attacking party, all of which brought the faltering Kaskaskians back into line, with reassurances of their fealty to Virginia.
But the alarm of Hamilton's approach was premature, and the incident which gave rise to it was the discovery of a band of about forty whites and Indians (thought to be the army) making a retreat for Vincennes, with all possible speed, and sent for no other purpose, as was learned after- wards, than to capture Clark and take him a prisoner before Hamilton. While he had not as yet received any news from Vincennes, (the messen- gers despatched by Helm were captured by British spies) Clark very prop- erly conceived the idea that Hamilton was at the Old Post, but he had nevertheless already "suffered more uneasiness," he says, "than when I was certain of an immediate attack, as I had more time to reflect."
A few days later, (January 29, 1779) Colonel Vigo returned to Kas- kaskia from Vincennes, whither Clark sent him to provide Helm with supplies, and removed all further doubt as to General Hamilton's presence at the Old Post. The thrilling incidents connected with the colonel's trip, and his treatment by the general on arriving at Vincennes as a captive, have already been mentioned. Suffice to say Vigo brought back valuable information to Clark, pertaining to Hamilton's future movements, the strength of his garrison, which was provided with three pieces of cannon and some swivels mounted. He also learned that Hamilton was planning a big meeting for next spring at Vincennes of all the hostile tribes along the Wabash for the purpose of routing Clark and his men in the Illinois country, and to later "attack the Kentucky settlements, in a body, joined by their southern friends; that all goods were taken from the merchants of Post Vincennes for the King's use; that the troops under Hamilton were repairing the fort and expected reinforcements from Detroit in the spring ; that they appeared to have plenty of all kinds of stores; that they were strict in their discipline; but, that he did not believe they were under much apprehension of a visit; and believed that, if we could get there undiscovered, we might take the place. In short," continues Clark, "we got every information from this gentleman that we could wish for; as he had had good opportunities, and had taken great pains to inform himself with a design to give intelligence."*
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