USA > Kentucky > A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume I > Part 10
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 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86
There lay between Clark and the post of Kaskaskia at this time, one hundred and twenty miles of unknown territory, but with Sanders as his guide, after concealing his boats he began the march. Sanders became confused and lost the trail, exciting suspicion of his loyalty, but, after a time, he secured the correct idea of the route and the expedi- tion proceeded, halting on July 4th, a most auspicious date, within a few miles of the town, where he lay until dusk, when he con- tinned to the suburbs, where a house was tak- en possession of. Boats were secured and a portion of the command crossed the river, while Colonel Clark, with another small divi-
sion of his forces, took possession of the fort which was afterwards known as Fort Clark in compliment to the leader of the expedition. The fort was practically unguarded and was taken without resistance. The other divisions of his forces, in accordance with their instruc- tions, then moved against the town which they had surrounded and it was soon within their hands, without the shedding of a drop of blood.
Rocheblanc, the British Commander, with a French name, was taken in his private cham- bers, where were found written instructions to the Indians inciting them to deeds of sav- age cruelty and offering rewards for the scalps of white persons. Those English people of today who enjoy writing and printing criti- cisms upon the people of our country might more profitably employ their time in explain- ing why the officers of their army incited sav- ages to the murder of those who, of their own blood, had become citizens of the new land beyond the seas and who sought to make here the homes for their wives and children denied them in the land of their nativity and that of their fathers.
Colonel Clark, to impress the people of Kaskaskia, who had been taught to believe that the men of Virginia and Kentucky were but savages, as were the Indians, ordered his men to patrol the town, yelling and whooping as did the savages. This artifice had its desired effect and the simple people were sufficiently overawed.
From his scouts and spies, whom he had sent out, Colonel Clark learned that there was a considerable body of Indians near Cahokia, about sixty miles up the Mississippi. While deliberating upon an attack upon Cahokia, Col. Clark was waited upon by M. Gibault, the French priest of Kaskaskia, and a delegation of its citizens, who begged of him that the rights of property be respected, that they be not separated from their wives and children.
51
HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS
and that sufficient clothes and provisions be for their unexpected deliverance from an ex- left them for future support. pected and dreaded captivity.
To these appeals, Col. Clark replied: "You must mistake us for savages from your de- meanor and language. Do you think that Americans would strip the clothing from women and children ; separate them from hus- bands and fathers and take the bread out of their mouths? We do not make war with such atrocities. It was to prevent our own women and children from horrid butchery by Indians that we have taken up arms and penetrated this distant stronghold of British and Indian barbarity, and not the contemptible prospect of plunder. I bear to you a message of sur- prise that I hope may be pleasing to all. You have not lost your love for your native France, whose dominion over this territory you reltic- tantly exchanged for that of England by the treaty of Paris in 1763. That France, which was your patriotic first love, and for which there must ever remain a lingering pride and affection in the breast of every Frenchman, native born and true, has now, by another treaty with the Americans, made herself an ally with us in this cruel war that England wages against us. The French king has now united his powerful arms with those of Amer- ica and the war, in all probability, will soon be terminated in our favor. You are at lib- erty to choose whichever side you please, and we will not molest you nor interfere with your religion, for it is the religion of many Americans. I am convinced that you have been misled by the statements of British officers and prejudiced against us; and, am satisfied that we should be friends and not enemies. I shall order the immediate release of your friends and announce to you that all are privileged to go where and do as they please in the future."
The delegation withdrew and the statement of Colonel Clark having been made public. there was great rejoicing ; bells were rung and the people gave thanks and praises to God
Having undisputed possession of Kaskas- kia, Clark next sent Capt. Bowman to cap- ture Cahokia, a French settlement not far from the present site of St. Louis, which was easily done, no resistance being offered by the French inhabitants, who with those of Kaskaskia had no love for the English, and subsequently proved of great assistance to Colonel Clark in his following operations against Vincennes.
Soon after capturing the garrison at Kas- kaskia, Clark sent that fine old pioneer and scout, Simon Kenton, to the Ohio Falls, with dispatches announcing his success, directing him, in the meantime, to ascertain, while on his way, the exact condition of the British post at Vincennes. This service was properly performed and after six days, three of which had been spent in Vincennes, Kenton sent back a message to Clark that the inhabitants were mostly French and inclined to accept the authority of the Americans. Father Gibault, the Catholic priest at Kaskaskia, had visited Vincennes, and his report of the conduct and sentiments of Colonel Clark and his men at Kaskaskia tended to bring the people of Vin- cennes to his support. When Gibault left Kaskaskia for Vincennes he was accompanied hy an influential citizen of the former post, Jean Lafort, who was to act as a political agent, and Lieutenant Leonard Helm, who was to take over the military command of Vincennes in the event of its peaceful sur- render.
When Father Gibault had made known to the people the conduct of Colonel Clark and his men at Kaskaskia, and had explained the alliance of their native land, France, with the Americans in opposition to England, the peo- ple of Vincennes held a meeting in which they threw off the allegiance they had hitherto unwillingly borne to England, and raising the American flag above the fort, took the
52
HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS
oath of allegiance to Virginia. Abbott, the British Governor of the post, was absent in Detroit, and his subordinates lost no time in leaving the country. The Indians, surprised by the sudden shifting of authority which they could not understand, were told that their old father and friend, the King of France, had come to life again; that he was angry with them for joining with the English in warfare, and that if they did not wish a desperate warfare in their land, they should be at peace with the new people who had come among them.
One of the first incentives to the expedition of Colonel Clark to the country beyond the Ohio River had been to make peace with the Indians for the protection of the scattered and struggling people in Kentucky. To ac- complish this, after securing possession of Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Vincennes, he held conferences with the Indians, reporting in the meantime, after his military successes, that "our influence began to spread among the nations ( Indians ) even to the border of the States." The Indian of that day, as of this, respected power and had an admiration for the man who did things, which was a distinct- ive characteristic of George Rogers Clark. At the end of five weeks of negotiation which was. in the main successful. Colonel Clark leaving Capt, Bowman in command at Vin- cennes, returned to Kaskaskia. The period of enlistment of certain of his troops having expired, these were ordered back to the Falls of the Ohio, under command of Capt. William Linn, who was directed to establish a fort at the Falls.
Col. Henry Hamilton, the acting English Lieutenant Governor at Detroit, learning of the success of Colonel Clark in the Illinois country, began immediate preparations to re- capture that territory and drive Clark and his brave followers back again to the southern banks of the Ohio. Hamilton was especially hated by the men with Clark. by reason of his
having offered to the Indians a money prize for the scalps of white persons among the early settlers of the new country. Colonel Clark shared this feeling and always referred to Hamilton as "the hair-buyer." Writing to Governor Patrick Henry from Kaskaskia, February 3, 1779, he thus refers to Hamilton and his own plans :
"A late maneuver of the famous hair buyer, Henry Hamilton, Esq., Lieutenant Governor of Detroit, hath alarmed us much. On the 16th of December last, he with a body of 600 men, composed of regulars, French volun- teers and Indians, took possession of St. Vin- cent on the Wabash and what few men that composed the garrison, not being able to make the least defense. * Yesterday I fortunately got every piece of intelligence that I could wish for by a Spanish gentleman that made his escape from Mr. Hamilton. No attack is to be made on the garrison at Kas- kaskia until the spring. Being sensible that without reinforcements, which, at present, I have hardly a right to expect. I shall be obliged to give up the country to Mr. Hamil- ton without a turn of fortune in my favor, I am resolved to take advantage of this pres- ent situation and risk the whole in a single battle. I shall set out in a few days with all the force I can raise of my own troops and a few militia that I can depend upon, amount- ing in the whole to only 170 men. * * I know the case is desperate but, Sir, we must either quit the country or attack Mr. Hamil- ton. * * In case we fail, this country and. I believe, Kentucky is lost."
Hamilton had 600 men; Clark had 170, but there was no hesitancy upon the part of the gallant American soldier. He had come to the parting of the ways. Either he or Hamil- ton must go. There was not room enough for both of them in the Illinois country, and the intrepid Clark determined that he would not go without one final struggle. To others and it may have seemed so to Colonel Clark,
53
HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS
there was but a forlorn hope that he would succeed and in that success win the Illinois country and what was equally or more im- portant, the fair Kentucky for which he fought.
February 5, 1779, Clark and his intrepid little army-think of an army of but 170 men, in the enemy's country, a thousand miles from support or succor !- left Kaskaskia for their march to Vincennes one hundred and seventy miles distant, across uncharted plains, aeross icy streams in mid-winter. These men under Clark were of the stuff of which heroes are made, and it follows, as doth the night the day, that their descendants in Virginia and in Kentucky in later days and on other fields, wrote the imperishable record of the Ameri- can soldier, than whom no better soldier fol- lows now, nor has ever followed, the flag of any other country under the sun.
Previous to beginning his march, Colonel Clark had ordered Captain Rogers, with forty-six men and two four pounders, to pro- ceed up the Wabash to the mouth of White river, there to await further orders. In the meantime, the land forces proceeded upon their way facing almost inconceivable hard- ships and dangerous delay. Wading through icy waters filled with floating ice which buf- feted them at every step, they, like the Irish troops at Fontenoy, went "ever right onward still."
Colonel Clark at their head, mounted on what has been described as "the finest stallion in the country," cheered his men, shared their sufferings and refused other chan the scant rations on which they subsisted. From the diary of Bowman, under date of February 23d, the following extraet is taken showing the difficulties encountered and overcome by as intrepid a body of American volunteers as ever marched to battle: "Set off to eross the plain about four miles long, all covered with water breast high. Here we expected that some of our brave men must certainly perish,
having frozen in the night and so long fast- ing. Having no other resource but wading this plain or rather lake of waters, we plunged into it with courage, Colonel Clark being first. In the midst of this wading rather than marching, a little drummer boy who floated along on his drum, afforded much of the merriment that helped to divert the men from their hardship."
Of this intrepid little drummer boy, who had better been at his mother's knee, Colonel Clark says in his "Memoirs:" "A drummer boy, the pet of the regiment, was placed on the shoulders of a tall man and ordered to beat for his life. I halted and called to Major Bowman to fall to the rear with twenty-five men, and put to death any man who refused to march as we wished to have none such among us. The whole command gave a cry of appreciation and we marched on."
It is to the everlasting honor of these gal- lant men that not only did Bowman have no occasion to execute the command of his stren- tous commander, but that the men gave to that order "a ery of appreciation." Those were nation builders who followed Clark, from the little drummer boy to the last private in the ranks, and the name of every one of them is worthy to be inscribed in the highest records of their country's history. It is a matter for regret that those names cannot now be given on this page, there to endure forever as a heritage for their descendants and an ex- ample worthy of the emulation of every Amer- ican volunteer soldier.
When Colonel Clark had arrived within a few miles of Vincennes, knowing that an alarm would necessarily be given before he could attack the fort, he decided to use diplomacy. Knowing most of the people of Vincennes to be friendly to the Americans, he sent a mes- senger to them with the following address :
"TO THE INHABITANTS OF VINCENNES :- Gentle- men-Being now within two miles of your village. with my army determined to take your fort this night,
54
HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS
and not being willing to surprise you, I take this method to request of such of you as are true citizens and willing to enjoy the liberty I bring you, to re- main still in your houses-and those, if there be any, 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 upon severe punishment. On the contrary, those who are true friends to liberty may depend upon 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 him as an enemy."
"(Signed)
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK."
This proclamation caused the people of Vincennes to believe that the threatened at- tack was to be made by an army that had just come from Kentucky, as they considered it impossible that a force from the Illinois coun- try could appear before their town in mid- winter, so great were the obstacles in the shape of water and ice to be overcome. Ter- rified by the proximity of this new force as they deemed it, and unaware of the size of the "army" to which Colonel Clark had re- ferred in his proclamation, not even the sym- pathizers with the English made known to the fort the near approach of the American forces.
Making his appearance before the fort, Colonel Clark so completely surprised Hamil- ton that the latter surrendered without an effort at defense.
In the afternoon of February 24, 1779, the following articles of capitulation were agreed to :
"First .- Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton engages to deliver up to Colonel Clark, Fort Sackville, as it is at present, with all stores, etc.
"Second .- The garrison are to deliver themselves as prisoners of war and march out with their arms and accouterments, etc.
"Third .- The garrison to be delivered up tomor- row at 10 o'clock.
"Fourth .- Three days' time to be allowed the gar- rison to settle their accounts with the inhabitants and traders of this place.
"Fifth .- The officers of the garrison to be allowed their necessary baggage, etc.
"Signed at Post St. Vincent (Vincennes), Feb- ruary 24, 1779."
"Agreed for the following reasons: The remote- ness from succor; the state and quantity of pro- visions, etc .; the unanimity of officers and men in its expediency ; the honorable terms allowed; and lastly the confidence in a generous enemy.
"(Signed) HENRY HAMILTON, "Lieutenant Governor and Superintendent."
Early in the morning of the next day, Feb- ruary 25, 1779, the surrender was consum- mated ; the arms of the garrison secured ; the British flag hauled down; the American flag raised in its place and the name of the fort changed to Fort Patrick Henry in honor of the Governor of Virginia who had authorized and enabled Colonel Clark to start upon the dangerous mission that day crowned with success.
A portion of the prisoners were paroled, but in March, Hamilton and others of the garrison were sent as prisoners of war to Virginia. Hamilton was confined at the cap- ital, Williamsburg, until October, 1780, when he was paroled and sent to New York. It is to the credit of the Americans that, though Hamilton was the author of the brutal offer of money for the scalps of those in opposi- tion to English authority, there is nowhere a record of any indignity being offered him . while in captivity, though the terms of that atrocious offer were sufficient to have re- moved him beyond the pale of recognition by any save those with the same brutal instincts as his own.
Two days after the surrender the boat "Willing" with its forty-seven men under command of Captain Rogers, arrived at Vin- cennes, after being delayed by the swift cur- rent of the Wabash. Accompanying this party was a messenger from Virginia who bore to Clark and his associates the thanks and congratulations of the assembly on the success that had attended his expedition to
55
HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS
the time when it was last heard from in Vir- ginia. This messenger also bore two com- missions, one of which promoted Clark from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel, and Bowman from Captain to Major, a deserved honor in each instance to men who had surely de- served well of their country.
Thus ended the most momentous campaign against the English and their Indian allies that has ever illumined the history of our country. Col. George Rogers Clark had not only protected Kentucky and saved it from the ravages of the Indians but he did more even than this. He had added to the domain of his country a magnificent territory out of which have since been carved the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and that part of Minnesota lying on the east- ern shore of the Mississippi river. But for Clark and his genius and the indomitable spirit of himself and his men, that great ter- ritory would have been left as a possession of England and for aught the historian of today can say, may have remained to this day a portion of Canada. This is mere specula- tion ; it is a certainty that Clark removed the
territory in question from the realm of un- certainty into that of fact.
Clark chafed under his inability, for lack of men and supplies, to reduce Detroit and Sandusky which he recognized as the bases of supplies, the heart of English occupancy and the points from which emanated the offers and inducements leading to Indian atrocities. "Had I been able to raise only 500 men," Clark afterwards stated, "when I first arrived in the country ; or, when I was at St. Vincent (Vincennes) could I have secured my prisoners and have had only 300 men, I should have attempted it" (meaning the cap- ture of Detroit and Sandusky). But he did not have the needed men and was forced to relinquish his plans.
Captain John Todd soon arrived in the captured territory to assume the governor- ship, after which Colonel Clark, after send- ing a courier to Virginia with dispatches for Governor Henry and Thomas Jefferson an- nouncing the complete success of the expedi- tion, left the great domain he had won for his country and returned to the Falls of the Ohio.
CHAPTER XII.
BOONE CAPTURED SELF-SACRIFICE FOR OTHERS-TAKEN TO DETROIT-ADOPTED INTO INDIAN TRIBE-ESCAPES-REACHES BOONESBOROUGH-GOES INDIAN HUNTING-SURRENDER OF FORT DEMANDED-REFUSE TO SURRENDER-FRENCH ATTEMPT DECEPTION-MINES AND COUNTERMINES-THE SIEGE RAISED INCIDENTS OF SIEGE.
While Clark was engaged with his vast schemes looking to the conquest of the north- west and the driving therefrom of the Eng- lish and their savage allies, events of moment were occurring in Kentucky.
In February, 1778, Daniel Boone and a party of thirty men were at the Blue Licks, on the Licking river, engaged in making salt for the settlements. Wandering in search of game from the camp of his associates, Boone was captured by a party of more than one hundred Indians who were en route to Boonesborough for an attack upon that sta- tion. It is probable that they had learned, through some of the means known only to the savage, that Boone was absent from the station and judged this to be an auspicious moment for an attack. Boone, in his auto- biography, says that he was made a prisoner on February 7, 1778, which is probably the correct date. Of his captivity and his captors he writes: "They brought me on the 8th day to the Licks, where twenty-seven of my party were, three of them having previously re- turned home with the salt. I, knowing it was impossible for them to escape, capitulated with the enemy, and, at a distance, in their view, gave notice to my men of their situa- tion, with orders not to resist but surrender themselves as captives."
The men at the Licks obeyed Boone and
soon joined him as captives. It is assumed that Boone knew the fort at Boonesborough not to be in condition for a siege and hoped, by offering himself and his men as hostages, the threatened attack might be averted. Had he not done this, Boonesborough must have fallen. Marshall, in his history of that period, perhaps correctly says: "Had the Indians, after taking Boone and his men pris- oners, instead of returning home with their captives, marched on to Boonesborough they might either have taken the place by surprise or, using the influence their prisoners con- ferred on them, compelled a surrender of the garrison and, progressively acting on the same plan, it is probable that the two other forts would have fallen in the same way, and from the same advantage. It is hardly pre- sumable that even if they had escaped sur- prise, they would have resisted a summons to surrender which might have been enforced by the massacre of the prisoners under their eyes."
Boone, knowing these matters intuitively, offered himself and his comrades willingly upon the altar of sacrifice in order that he might save the people of the three stations from death or capture and the women therein from a worse fate than any death had to offer. He proved himself now, as ever be- fore and after, the intrepid pioneer and sol-
56
57
HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS
dier ready to meet every emergency, to dare every fate regardless of the effect upon him- self. He was a man.
Of the men who were prisoners with Boone, one (Stephen Hancock) escaped and made his way to Boonesborough where he made known the capture of Boone and the condition of the prisoners. Hancock, a gal- lant soldier of the frontier, was later the founder of a station in what became Madison county, which station bore his name. He was a gallant man, a frontiersman born, and left his impress upon the new country as one of its most intrepid Indian fighters.
Boone correctly judged the future move- ments of his captors. Elated by their unex- pected success in the easy capture of so many prisoners without loss to themselves, they abandoned the march upon Boonesborough and countermarched upon their own undis- puted territory.
In March, Boone and ten of his men were taken by the Indians to Detroit, a British gar- rison commanded by that same Colonel Ham- ilton to whom Colonel Clark referred as "the hair buyer," and whom he subsequently cap- tured. as has been seen, at Vincennes. Hamilton treated his captives with humanity and civility, going so far as to offer the Indi- ans a ransom of one hundred pounds for the release of Boone, at the same time assuring the latter that it was his intention to release him on parole. But if Hamilton, from what- ever cause, had become attached to Boone, so also had the Indians, who vastly admired his skill as woodsman and hunter and refused to consider any terms of ransom. Boone, while naturally anxious to escape captivity, was much exercised by the failure of Colonel Hamilton's plan for his release. He had pre- tended, through motives of policy, to be en- tirely content and to find pleasure in the midst of his new surroundings with the Indi- ans, and was fearful of exciting their suspicion by any showing of interest in the
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.