USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Steuben County, Indiana, together withbiographies of representative citizens > Part 5
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burg and Wheeling, proceeded down the Ohio to the "Falls," where he took possession of an island of a about seven acres, and divided it among a small number of families, for whose protection he constructed some light fortifications. At this time Post Vin- cennes comprised about 400 militia, and it was a daring undertak- ing for Col. Clark, with his small force, to go up against it and Kas- kaskia, as he had planned. Indeed, some of his men, on hearing of his plan, deserted him. He conducted himself so as to gain the sympathy of the French, and through them also that of the Indians to some extent, as both these people were very bitter against the British, who had possession of the Lake Region.
From the nature of the situation Clark concluded it was best to take Kaskaskia first. The fact that the people regarded him as a savage rebel, he regarded as really a good thing in his favor; for after the first victory he would show them so much unexpected lenity that they would rally to his standard. In this policy he was indeed successful. He arrested a few men and put them in irons. The priest of the village, accompanied by five or six aged citizens, waited on Clark and said that the inhabitants expected to be separ- ated, perhaps never to meet again, and they begged to be permitted to assemble in their church to take leave of each other. Clark mildly replied that he had nothing against their religion, that they might continue to assemble in their church, but not venture out of town, etc. Thus, by what has since been termed the "Rarey" method of taming horses, Clark showed them he had power over them but designed them no harm, and they readily took the oath of allegiance to Virginia.
After Clark's arrival at Kaskaskia it was difficult to induce the French settlers to accept the "Continental paper" introduced by him and his troops. Nor until Col. Vigo arrived there and guar- anteed its redemption would they receive it. Peltries and piastres formed the only currency, and Vigo found great difficulty in ex- plaining Clark's financial arrangements. "Their commandants never made money," was the reply to Vigo's explanation of the policy of the old Dominion. But notwithstanding the guarantees, the Continental paper fell very low in the market. Vigo had a trading establishment at Kaskaskia, where he sold coffee at one dollar a pound, and all the other necessaries of life at an equally reasonable price. The unsophisticated Frenchmen were generally asked in what kind of money they would pay their little bills.
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"Douleur," was the general reply; and as an authority on the sub ject says, "It took about twenty Continental dollars to purchase a silver dollar's worth of coffee; and as the French word "douleur" sig- nifies grief or pain, perhaps no word either in the French or Eng- lish languages expressed the idea more correctly than the douleur for a Continental dollar. At any rate it was truly douleur to the Colonel, for he never received a single dollar in exchange for the large amount taken from him in order to sustain Clark's credit.
Now, the post at Vincennes, defended by Fort Sackville, came next. The priest just mentioned, Mr. Gibault, was really friendly to "the American interest;" he had spiritual charge of the church at Vincennes, and he with several others were deputed to assemble the people there and authorize them to garrison their own fort like a free and independent people, etc. This plan had its desired effect, and the people took the oath of allegiance to the State of Virginia and became citizens of the United States. Their style of language and conduct changed to a better huc, and they surprised the numer- ous Indians in the vicinity by displaying a new flag and informing them that their old father, the King of France, was come to life again, and was mad at them for fighting the English; and they ad- vised them to make peace with the Americans as soon as they could, otherwise they might expect to make the land very bloody, etc. The Indians concluded they would have to fall in line, and they offered no resistance. Capt. Leonard Helm, an American, was left'in charge of this post, and Clark began to turn his atten- tion to other points. But before leaving this section of the coun- try he made treaties of peace with the Indians; this he did, how- ever, by a different method from what had always before been followed. By indirect methods he caused them to come to him, instead of going to them. He was convinced that inviting them to treaties was considered by them in a different manner from what the whites expected, and imputed them to fear, and that giving them great presents confirmed it. He accordingly established treaties with the Piankeshaws, Ouiatenons, Kickapoos, Illinois, Kaskaskias, Peorias and branches of some other tribes that inhab- ited the country between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi. Upon this the General Assembly of the State of Virginia declared all the citizens settled west of the Ohio organized into a county of that State, to be known as "Illinois " county; but before the pro- visions of the law could be carried into effect, Henry Hamilton, the British Lieutenant-Governor of Detroit, collected an army of about
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30 regulars, 50 French volunteers and 400 Indians, went down and re-took the post Vincennes in December, 1778. No attempt was made by the population to defend the town. Capt. Helm and a man named Henry were the only Americans at the fort, the only members of the garrison. Capt. Helm was taken prisoner and a number of the French inhabitants disarmed.
Col. Clark, hearing of the situation, determined to re-capture the place. He accordingly gathered together what force he could in this distant land, 170 men, and on the 5th of February, started from Kaskaskia and crossed the river of that name. The weather was very wet, and the low lands were pretty well covered with water. The march was difficult, and the Colonel bad to work hard to keep his men in spirits. He suffered them to shoot game whenever they wished and eat it like Indian war-dancers, each company by turns inviting the others to their feasts, which was the case every night. Clark waded through water as much as any of them, and thus stimu- lated the men by his example. They reached the Little Wabash on the 13th, after suffering many and great hardships. Here a camp was formed, and without waiting to discuss plans for crossing the river, Clark ordered the men to construct a vessel, and pretended that crossing the stream would be only a piece of amusement, al- though inwardly he held a different opinion.
The second day afterward a reconnoitering party was sent across the river, who returned and made an encouraging report. A scaf- folding was built on the opposite shore, upon which the baggage was placed as it was tediously ferried over, and the new camping ground was a nice half acre of dry land. There were many amuse- ments, indeed, in getting across the river, which put all the men in high spirits. The succeeding two or three days they had to march through a great deal of water, having on the night of the 17th to encamp in the water, near the Big Wabash.
At daybreak on the 18th they heard the signal gun at Vincennes, and at once commenced their march. Reaching the Wabash about two o'clock, they constructed rafts to cross the river on a boat-steal- ing expedition, but labored all day and night to no purpose. On the 19th they began to make a canoe, in which a second attempt to steal boats was made, but this expedition returned, reporting that there were two "large fires" within a mile of them. Clark sent a canoe down the river to meet the vessel that was supposed to be on her way up with the supplies, with orders to hasten forward day and night. This was their last hope, as their provisions were entirely
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gone, and starvation seemed to be hovering about them. The next day they commenced to make more canoes, when about noon the sentinel on the river brought a boat with five Frenchmen from the fort. From this party they learned that they were not as yet dis- covered. All the army crossed the river in two canoes the next day, and as Clark had determined to reach the town that night, he ordered his men to move forward. They plunged into the water sometimes to the neck, for over three miles.
Without food, benumbed with cold, up to their waists in water, covered with broken ice, the men at one time mutinied and refused to march. All the persuasions of Clark had no effect upon the half-starved and half-frozen soldiers. In one company was a small drummer boy, and also a sergeant who stood six feet two inches in socks, and stout and athletic. He was devoted to Clark. The Gen- eral mounted the little drummer on the shoulders of the stalwart sergeant and ordered him to plunge into the water, half-frozen as it was. He did so, the little boy beating the charge from his lofty perch, while Clark, sword in hand, followed them, giving the com- mand as he threw aside the floating ice, "Forward." Elated and amused with the scene, the men promptly obeyed, holding their rifles above their heads, and in spite of all the obstacles they reached the high land in perfect safety. But for this and the ensuing days of this campaign we quote from Clark's account:
" This last day's march through the water was far superior to any- thing the Frenchmen had any idea of. They were backward in speaking; said that the nearest land to us was a small league, a sugar camp on the bank of the river. A canoe was sent off and re- turned without finding that we could pass. I went in her myself and sounded the water and found it as deep as to my neck. I returned with a design to have the men transported on board the canoes to the sugar camp, which I knew would expend the whole day and en- suing night, as the vessels would pass slowly through the bushes. The loss of so much time to men half starved was a matter of con- sequence. I would have given now a great deal for a day's provis- ion, or for one of our horses. I returned but slowly to the troops, giving myself time to think. On our arrival all ran to hear what was the report; every eye was fixed on me; I unfortunately spoke in a serious manner to one of the officers. The whole were alarmed without knowing what I said. I viewed their confusion for about one minute; I whispered to those near me to do as I did, immedi- ately put some water in my hand, poured on powder, blackened my
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face, gave the war-whoop, and marched into the water without say- ing a word. The party gazed and fell in, one after another without saying a word, like a flock of sheep. I ordered those near me to begin a favorite song of theirs; it soon passed through the line, and the whole went on cheerfully.
" I now intended to have them transported across the deepest part of the water; but when about waist-deep, one of the men in- formed me that he thought he felt a path; we examined and found it so, and concluded that it kept on the highest ground, which it did, and by taking pains to follow it, we got to the sugar camp with no difficulty, where there was about half an acre of dry ground,-at least ground not under water, and there we took up our lodging. * * *
* *
"The night had been colder than any we had had, and the ice in the morning was one-half or three-quarters of an inch thick in still water; the morning was the finest. A little after sunrise I lectured the whole; what I said to them I forget, but I concluded by in- forming them that passing the plain then in full view, and reaching the opposite woods would put an end to their fatigue; that in a few hours they would have a sight of their long wished-for object; and immediately stepped into the water without waiting for any reply. A huzza took place. As we generally marched through the water in a line, before the third man entered, I called to Major Bowman, ordering him to fall in the rear of the 25 men, and put to death any man who refused to march. This met with a cry of approbation, and on we went. Getting about the middle of the plain, the water about mid-deep, I found myself sensibly failing; and as there were no trees nor bushes for the men to support them- selves by, I feared that many of the weak would be drowned. I or- dered the canoes to make the land, discharge their loading, and play backward and forward with all diligence and pick up the men; and to encourage the party, sent some of the strongest men forward, with orders when they got to a certain distance, to pass the word back that the water was getting shallow, and when getting near the woods, to cry out land. This stratagem had its desired effect; the men exerted themselves almost beyond their abilities, the weak holding by the stronger. The water, however, did not become shallower, but continued deepening. Getting to the woods where the men expected land, the water was up to my shoulders; but gaining the woods was of great consequence; all the low men and weakly hung to the trees and floated on the old logs until they were
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taken off by the canoes; the strong and tall got ashore and built fires. Many would reach the shore and fall with their bodies half in the water, not being able to support themselves without it.
"This was a dry and delightful spot of ground of about ten acres. Fortunately, as if designed by Providence, a canoe of Indian squaws and children was coming up to town, and took through this part of the plain as a nigh way; it was discovered by our canoe-men as they were out after the other men. They gave chase and took the Indian canoe, on board of which was nearly half a quarter of buffalo, some corn, tallow, kettles, etc. This was an invaluable prize. Broth was immediately made and served out, especially to the weakly; nearly all of us got a little; but a great many gave their part to the weakly, saying something cheering to their comrades. By the afternoon, this refreshment and fine weather had greatly invigor- ated the whole party.
" Crossing a narrow and deep lake in the canoes, and marching some distance, we came to a copse of timber called 'Warrior's Island.' We were now in full view of the fort and town; it was about two miles distant, with not a shrub intervening. Every man now feasted his eyes and forgot that he had suffered anything, say- ing that all which had passed was owing to good policy, and noth- ing but what a man could bear, and that a soldier had no right to think, passing from one extreme to the other,-which is common in such cases. And now stratagem was necessary. The plain between us and the town was not a perfect level; the sunken grounds were covered with water full of ducks. We observed several men within a half a mile of us shooting ducks, and sent out some of our active young Frenchmen to take one of these men prisoners without alarming the rest, which they did. The information we got from this person was similar to that which we got from those taken on the river, except that of the British having that evening completed the wall of the fort, and that there were a great many Indians in town.
"Our situation was now critical. No possibility of retreat in case of defeat, and in full view of a town containing at this time more than 600 men, troops, inhabitants and Indians. The crew of the galley, though not 50 men, would have been now a re-enforcement of immense magnitude to our little army, if I may so call it, but we would not think of them. We were now in the situation that I had labored to get ourselves in. The idea of being made prisoner was foreign to almost every man, as they expected nothing but tor- ture from the savages if they fell into their hands. Our fate was
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now to be determined, probably in a few hours; we knew that nothing but the most daring conduct would insure success; I knew also that a number of the inhabitants wished us well. This was a favorable circumstance; and as there was but little probability of our remaining until dark undiscovered, I determined to begin opera- tions immediately, and therefore wrote the following placard to the inhabitants:
To the Inhabitants of Post Vincennes:
Gentlemen :- Being now within two miles of your village with my army, determined to take your fort this night, and not being willing to surprise you, I take this method to request such of you as are true citizens and willing to enjoy the liberty I bring you, to remain still in your houses; and those, if any there be, that are friends to the king, will instantly repair to the fort and join the hair-buyer general and fight like men; and if any such as do not go to the fort shall be discovered afterward, they may depend on severe punishment. On the contrary, those who are true friends to liberty may depend on being well treated; and I once more request them to keep out of the streets; for every one I find in arms on my arrival I shall treat as an enemy.
[Signed] G. R. CLARK.
"I had various ideas on the results of this letter. I knew it could do us no damage, but that it would cause the lukewarm to be decided, and encourage our friends and astonish our enemies. We anxiously viewed this messenger until he entered the town, and in a few minutes we discovered by our glasses some stir in every street we could penetrate, and great numbers running or riding out into the commons, we supposed to view us, which was the case. But what surprised us was that nothing had yet happened that had the appearance of the garrison being alarmed,-neither gun nor drum. We began to suppose that the information we got from our prisoners was false, and that the enemy had already knew of us and were prepared. A little before sunset we displayed ourselves in full view of the town,-crowds gazing at us. We were plunging ourselves into certain destruction or success ; there was no midway thought of. We had but little to say to our men, except inculcat- ing an idea of the necessity of obedience, etc. We moved on slowly in full view of the town; but as it was a point of some con- sequence to us to make ourselves appear formidable, we, in leaving the covert we were in, marched and counter-marched in such a manner that we appeared numerous. Our colors were displayed to the best advantage; and as the low plain we marched throughi was-
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not a perfect level, but had frequent risings in it, of 7 or 8 higher than the common level, which was covered with water; and as these risings generally run in an oblique direction to the town, we took the advantage of one of them, marching through the water by it, which completely prevented our being numbered. We gained the heights back of the town. As there were as yet no hostile appearance, we were impatient to have the cause unriddled. Lieut. Bayley was ordered with 14 men to march and fire on the fort; the main body moved in a different direction and took possession of the strongest part of the town."
Clark then sent a writter. order to Hamilton commanding him to surrender immediately or he would be treated as a murderer; Hamilton replied that he and his garrison were not disposed to be awed into any action unworthy of British sub- jects. After one hour more of fighting, Hamilton proposed a trnce of three days for conference, on condition that each side cease all defensive work; Clark rejoined that he would "not agree to any terms other than Mr. Hamilton surrendering himself and garrison prisoners at discretion," and added that if he, Hamil- ton, wished to talk with him he could meet him immediately at the church with Capt. Helm. In less than an hour Clark dictated the terms of surrender, Feb. 24, 1779. Hamilton agreed to the total surrender because, as he there claimed in writing, he was too far from aid from his own government, and because of the "unanimity" of his officers in the surrender, and his "confidence in a generous enemy."
"Of this expedition, of its results, of its importance, of the merits of those engaged in it, of their bravery, their skill, of their prudence, of their success, a volume would not more than suffice for the details. Suffice it to say that in my opinion, and I have accurately and criti- cally weighed and examined all the results produced by the con- tests in which we were engaged during the Revolutionary war, that for bravery, for hardships endured, for skill and consummate tact and prudence on the part of the commander, obedience, dis- cipline and love of country on the part of his followers, for the immense benefits acquired, and signal advantages obtained by it for the whole union, it was second to no enterprise undertaken dur- ing that struggle. I might add, second to no undertaking in an- cient or modern warfare. The whole credit of this conquest be- longs to two men; Gen. George Rogers Clark and Col. Francis Vigo. And when we consider that by it the whole territory now
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covered by the three great states of Indiana, Illinois and Michigan was added to the union, and so admitted to be by the British commis- sioners at the preliminaries to the treaty of peace in 1783; (and but for this very conquest, the boundaries of our territories west would have been the Ohio instead of the Mississippi, and so acknowledged by both our commissioners and the British at that conference;) a territory embracing upward of 2,000,000 people, the human mind is lost in the contemplation of its effects; and we can but wonder that a force of 170 men, the whole number of Clark's troops, should by this single action have produced such important results." [John Law.
The next day Clark sent a detachment of 60 men up the river Wabash to intercept some boats which were laden with provisions and goods from Detroit. This force was placed under command of Capt. Helm, Major Bosseron and Major Legras, and they proceeded up the river, in three armed boats, about 120 miles, when the British boats, about seven in number, were surprised and captured without firing a gun. These boats, which had on board about $50,000 worth of goods and provisions, were manned by about 40 men, among whom was Philip Dejean, a magistrate of Detroit. The provisions were taken for the public, and distributed among the soldiery.
Having organized a military government at Vincennes and appointed Capt. Helm commandant of the town, Col. Clark return- ed in the vessel to Kaskaskia, where he was joined by reinforce- ments from Kentucky under Capt. George. Meanwhile, a party of traders who were going to the falls, were killed and plundered by the Delawares of White River; the news of this disaster having reached Clark, he sent a dispatch to Capt. Helm ordering him to make war on the Delawares and use every means in his power to destroy them; to show no mercy to the men, but to save the women and children. This order was executed without delay. Their camps were attacked in every quarter where they could be found. Many fell, and others were carried to Post Vincennes and put to death. The surviving Delawares at once pleaded for mercy and appeared anxious to make some atonement for their bad con- duct. To these overtures Capt. Helm replied that Col. Clark, the " Big Knife," had ordered the war, and that he had no power to lay down the hatchet, but that he would suspend hostilities until a messenger could be sent to Kaskaskia. This was done, and the crafty Colonel, well understanding the Indian character, sent a
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message to the Delawares, telling them that he would not accept their friendship or treat with them for peace; but that if they could get some of the neighboring tribes to become responsible for their future conduct, he would discontinue the war and spare their lives; otherwise they must all perish.
Accordingly a council was called of all the Indians in the neigh- borhood, and Clark's answer was read to the assembly. After due deliberation the Piankeshaws took on themselves to answer for the future good conduct of the Delawares, and the " Grand Door " in a long speech denounced their base conduct. This ended the war with the Delawares and secured the respect of the neighboring tribes
Clark's attention was next turned to the British post at Detroit, but being unable to obtain sufficient troops he abandoned the en- terprise.
CLARK'S INGENIOUS RUSE AGAINST THE INDIANS.
Tradition says that when Clark captured Hamilton and his gar- rison at Fort Sackville, he took possession of the fort and kept the British flag flying, dressed his sentinels with the uniform of the British soldiery, and let everything about the premises remain as they were, so that when the Indians sympathizing with the British arrived they would walk right into the citadel, into the jaws of death. His success was perfect. Sullen and silent, with the scalp- lock of his victims hanging at his girdle, and in full expectation of his reward from Hamilton, the unwary savage, unconscious of danger and wholly ignorant of the change that had just been effected in his absence, passed the supposed British sentry at the gate of the fort unmolested and unchallenged; but as soon as in, a volley from the rifles of a platoon of Clark's men, drawn up and awaiting his coming, pierced their hearts and sent the unconscious savage, reek- ing with murder, to that tribunal to which he had so frequently, by order of the hair-buyer general, sent his American captives, from the infant in the cradle to the grandfather of the family, tot- tering with age and infirmity. It was a just retribution, and few men but Clark would have planned such a ruse or carried it out successfully. It is reported that fifty Indians met this fate within the fort; and probably Hamilton, a prisoner there, witnessed it all.
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