George Rogers Clark part 1

This is a transcript of the We're All Stories podcast. To hear the episode click the link. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1685008/8970134

Ok, so first off, this was intended to be just a short little piece in honour of the 4th of July here. Yeah, that didn't happen. As I was writing and researching it just kept growing and growing into this massive thing. A normal, 45 minute episode is about ten pages of text. By the end of it, this beast was 25 pages long! And I still had to leave stuff out! It got to the point where it was like oh! This is soooo cool! I need to add this! but then I'm like no! Gotta stay focused and get this story out! So I compromised on what was and wasn't in there. There are SO many other things I could add, and there may be some things that I touch on here that may get their own episodes later. So here we go! And just so you know, so that this episode isn't like 3 hours long, I will be breaking this up into sections. You guys are the best. I hope it was worth the wait!!!

A few weeks ago we in the U.S. celebrated the 4th of July. This holiday kinda snuck up on me. I was so engrossed in researching that last episode that I didn't even think to do an episode in the spirit of the day, as I have done for previous holidays. I am here to rectify this oversight on my part.

The 4th of July, more formally known as Independence Day, is to commemorate the Declaration of Independence of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain. This movement of the second Continental Congress was actually decided by a vote in a closed session on July 2, but was declared publicly on July 4th. While the motion itself was originally proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee (wow, three first names!) of Virginia. And it is popularly held that the document, the Declaration of Independence was actually signed on August 2.

In fact, John Adams, founding father, second president and father to John Quincy Adams, our sixth president, in a letter to his wife Abigail dated July 3rd, he writes:

"The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

He was off by two days but the sentiment is the same.

In the following year, July 4th 1777, the day was marked in various places across the country by a 13 gun salute, among other festivities.

In 1778, getting into the spirit, General George Washington celebrated the 4th by treating his men to a double ration of rum while across the water, in France, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin celebrated by throwing a dinner party in Paris.

In 1781, Massachusetts becomes the first to declare the 4th a state holiday.

In 1783 Salem, North Carolina claims their musical performance The Psalm of Joy by Johann Friedrich Peter as the first, official public event celebrating the day.

In 1870 congress passes a bill declaring July 4th an unpaid federal Holiday and in 1938 they change its status to a paid federal holiday.

To commemorate this momentous day in American history I am going to look at the life and times of a man whose role in the Revolutionary War is often overlooked but integral to the cause of American freedom and was instrumental in acquiring and settling my part of the country, the Midwest, specifically the Ohio River Valley territories of what is now West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

I want to start by saying this was not a perfect man. In fact, a careful look through history will reveal very few perfect people. And this is a story from history. With that in mind, I will endeavor to lay out this history in an unbiased way, steering away from my opinions on the rightness and morality of aspects of this story to the best of my ability.

That being said, there are some topics that I want to address up front so there can be no misunderstandings.

First off is the controversial issue of slavery. Our story begins in Virginia which was predominantly occupied by plantation owners who profited off the work of slaves in their fields.

Let me say first off that slavery in any form is wrong. Noone has the right to own another person. All people no matter their nationality, gender, class, colour, creed, or sexual orientation are equal and deserve to be treated as such. It is unfortunate that slavery ever was (and in places continues to be, though largely overlooked or kept out of the limelight) something that happened but it is a part of history, we cannot change that. All we can do is move forward together to make this equality a reality. I'm not going to lie, we still have a long way to go but we can and should be proud of the great strides we have made towards this goal while not becoming complacent and settling for 'good enough.'

Unfortunately this dream will never be realized until all people on all sides put aside their differences and stop seeing the world as a dichotomy, us and them, and become one. We are the human race. Period. End of story. Well, that story anyway.

The settlement of the Ohio territories, and America as a whole for that matter, itself plays into this issue as well because this was the land of the tribes who had already been here for thousands of years. In that us versus them mindset, the settlers wanted the land, so the native tribes had to go. This too is a dark reality of our country's past. The same sentiments above hold true for this topic as well. With all that said, let's get on with the show.

John Clark, born October 9, 1726 and Ann Rogers, born October 21, 1728 were both born and raised in King and Queen county, Virginia. They were married around 1749 and moved west to a plantation in Albemarle county and on August 1, 1750 they started their family with the birth of their first child, Jonathan Clark. Two years later their second child, George Rogers Clark was born on November 9, 1752. Next came Ann Clark, their first daughter in 1755. Sometime between this and 1760 The Clarks move back east, to Caroline County, to get away from the "frontier" when the French Indian War breaks out in 1756.

In 1757 they have another little baby John Clark. We're not positive whether John Jr. 2.0 was born in Albemarle or Caroline but popular belief is that it was the former.

They would go on to have another six children in Caroline, (possibly seven if it turned out John 2 was in fact born in Caroline. ) Richard, Edmund, Lucy, Elizabeth, little baby Willie Clark and Francis "Fanny" Eleanor Clark brings the total up to ten in 1773.

Ten kids. I can't imagine it. When people hear I'm one of five, people are like five kids? That's huge! So ten seems insanely large to us nowadays but it wasn't that crazy back then. It wasn't small, average household size for that time was seven and a half, so it was just a little above average.

In colonial Virginia there really was no standard education. A large portion of the population were plantation owners sitting on 150+acres, so you don't really see as many population hubs and cities with easier access to public education. For most colonial parents, they were happy if their children educated in their faith, (mostly the Anglican faith to be specific) knew a trade and could sign their name. Church education was accomplished by going to church on Sundays, for trade, they would either learn the family trade or be apprenticed to a craftsman and as for signing their name, this was often seen to at home, provided their parents were able to write themselves of course. Families of adequate means would hire a private tutor for their children to give them a broader, more formal education often including (but not limited to) reading and writing in English and perhaps Latin as well as maths and classical history and literature. That being said, Virginia parents place a certain emphasis on education. Making education accessible to even those of modest means, so that education did not have to be solely the domain of the rich. Some wealthy plantation owners would set aside a corner of their fields for the building of a schoolhouse so their children could learn alongside the children of their neighbours. Some charged a fee to attend, the money being used to maintain the school and pay the teacher while others provided this education free of charge out of their largesse. Or sometimes a collection of local families would pool their resources for such a cause.

Such schools popping up were sometimes referred to as "old field schools" owing to their location in an old field or as "free schools" not necessarily referring to the cost of tuition, but free as in they were not overseen or driven by any particular organization pushing education towards one goal or other. in this they were free of bias, shall we say. That is, children there received a general education.

One such example is the Syms-Eaton Academy, or Syms-Eaton Free School. On February 12, 1634, Benjamin Sims set aside a sizable 200 acres of land and donated 8 cows, in his will for the establishment of the Syms Free School, which opened its doors in 1649, providing a free education for the children of Hampton, Elizabeth City and the surrounding areas. This was the first free public school in America.

In 1659 Thomas Eaton similarly donated lands etc. for the Eaton Charity School, with the purpose of providing a free education for poor families. In 1805 an act of the Virginia General Assembly merged these two schools together, creating a place where children could receive a standard, free education no matter their economic status.

To emphasize the importance of education to Virginian parents of the time, it was not unheard of for parents to provide funds for their child's education in their wills in the event of their death, sometimes selling portions of their estate to cover it. Wills could also be altered by the executor to provide for this in the case of parental oversight.

As I said, education was not solely entitled to the entitled, shortly after the settlement of the Virginia territory at Jamestown, legislation was passed providing for the education of poor orphans. There was also legislation that provided food, housing and education for the children of parents who did not have the means to care for their children.

The second son of John and Ann, George, received tutoring at home as well as spending time learning at the school run by Donald Robertson.

Donald Robertson was a Scottish immigrant. He arrived on Virginian shores March 29th, 1753. He settled in King and Queen county where he worked as a private tutor. Seeing a need, Robertson built his school on part of his land and he would teach around 30-40 students each year in a vast number of subjects including English comp and lit, Greek, Roman and British history, math, chemistry, classical literature, philosophy, French, Latin and Greek and more. Seriously, this guy taught everything. You may be thinking, who! French, Latin AND Greek? That's crazy! But this was actually pretty standard.. You see,, to be considered for admission at this time,, most colleges required at least a working understanding of Latin and Greek.. So any school that wanted their students to succeed academically offered these languages. Still, Donald Robertson's school was considered to be one of the best, most notable schools in the country and many of his pupils went on to do great things.

Learning alongside George Rogers Clark were students such as Senator John Taylor of Caroline, future governor of Virginia John Tyler, John Penn a Declaration of Independence signatory, I see record of a John Clark in Robertson's account book, (perhaps George's older brother?) Famous orator, army/navy officer and Virginia Attorney General, James Innes, Robert Brooke, tenth governor of Virginia and later Attorney General as well as his brother Lawrence, a naval surgeon in the war and most notably (aside from George of course!)Was "Father of the Constitution " and fourth President of the United States James Madison. Though many of the time did not consider educating women as important as educating men, Donald did have women in his classes, learning alongside the boys.

Though there is no record of his having served, perhaps proffering to instill the value of freedom into the minds and hearts of his pupils, as well as giving them the tools they would need to achieve it. He was a strong supporter of the American cause and provided the army with food throughout the war.

Donald would continue imparting his vast knowledge on young minds right up until his death in January of 1783. A courier arrived to tell him the war was over, after almost 10 years of fighting, America was at last free.

Robertson is reported to have said "the principles he taught and fought for so hard had finally seen fruition, and he could now rest at ease." Feeling his work was now complete, that night Donald Robertson died peacefully in his sleep.

That's the story anyway. The end of the is often considered to have been the surrender of Lord Cornwallis on October 19, 1781. The actual, formal end of the war was the signing of the Treaty of Paris by representatives of King George III and representatives for the new United States of America in Paris on September 3, 1983. Neither of these dates line up with the story of Donald Robertson. The Treaty was originally drafted November 30, 1782. So maybe news of the treaties drafting is the news Robertson heard? Whatever the case, the story of Robertson dying with a smile on his face the day he hears the news as a story paints a pretty picture, so I'll let it lie as it is, in honour of this great, little known man who worked so hard to shape the foundations of this country by shaping and feeding the young minds of those that would be instrumental in creating it.

George Rogers Clark did not do as well in his studies as some of his peers. The one subject he seemed to excel at was math. He left school to learn to be a surveyor from his grandfather.

In 1771, when he was 19, George took his first journey as a surveyor, exploring what is now West Virginia, followed the next year by a trip into modern Kentucky. He would spend the next two years exploring the land, surveying, studying the natural history of the land and interacting with the native tribes, learning their culture and traditions.

In 1774 George Rogers Clark would take the first steps in his military career, by serving in the Virginia militia as a captain.

In 1776, George convinces Virginia governor Patrick Henry to extend the borders of Virginia to create Kentucky County, Virginia. Henry gives Clark a supply of gunpowder and allows him to assemble a militia, bestowing the rank of major on young Clark. He would spend the next year defending this new territory from native Americans who were enticed to attack settlers by the British lieutenant governor of Fort Detroit and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Henry "Hair buyer" Hamilton. The epithet hair buyer comes from accusations of settlers in Kentucky saying that Hamilton was paying natives for any scalps belonging to settlers. Hamilton himself denies this. whether true or not, the name seems to have stuck.

In December of 1777, George returns to Patrick Henry with a plan for a secret, long distance raid to capture various British frontier forts with the ultimate goal of hitting ol' hair-buyer Hamilton where it hurts by taking Fort Detroit. This would break Britain's hold on the western frontier and make the territory safer for settlers. Henry agrees to Clark's Illinois campaign as it would be called, and promotes him to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He instructs him to collect men for this top secret mission. To aid in recruitment, the government promises land to any who would serve under him.

Clark begins recruiting men, seeking out frontiersmen, hunters, trappers and pioneers, men at home in the wilderness, setting Redstone Fort in what is now Fayette County, Pennsylvania as the meeting and staging point. He attracts such men as Benjamin Logan, Simon Kenton and Kenton's close friend, the famous Daniel Boone as well as a mess of Crockett's. Namely Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Crockett, great uncle to Davy Crockett and who, I believe, are Joseph's brothers, Alexander and Robert Crockett. I say I believe they are and not that they definitely are because I see Alexander and Robert Crockett listed in the rolls, and looking at the Crockett family tree, Joseph does have brothers named Alexander and Robert but I don't have hard proof that they are the same Alexander and Robert Crockett. Even if it is highly likely. Joseph's cousin Colonel Anthony Crockett was also in the Illinois regiment as well as a Nathaniel Crockett, who near as I can tell, is another cousin.. Among those recruited is a newly commissioned Captain Leonard Helm who had served with Clark in Lord Dunmore's war. He is put in charge of his own brigade under Clark.

Recruiting is tricky due to the secret nature of their mission. Many refused to join, not believing it was a sanctioned mission. Henry drafted a false mission plan for the purposes of recruiting men. According to these, Clark was collecting men to return to his defense of Kentucky.

This presented its own set of difficulties as officers saw it as pulling men needed from the front to play guard dog to a couple of cabins in the woods. according to Clark's memoirs, the only officers they were able to recruit were friends and those who wanted to see the frontier.

On May 12 they set out, heading to the falls of the Ohio around the modern Kentucky, Indiana border.

They go along the Monongahela (Muh-nun-guh-he-la) River (the Mon for short) stop at Fort Pitt (modern Pittsburgh) where the Mon and the Allegheny Rivers meet and the Ohio begins. They take the Ohio River to Fort Randolph where the Ohio meets the Kanawha River in modern Point Pleasant, West Virginia, making a pit stop at Fort Henry in what is now Wheeling West Virginia along the way. Leaving Fort Randolph they arrive at the falls in early June where they regroup and prepare for their secret mission. He decides to fortify this strategic location to be used as a relay station and to defend the waterways. not wanting to leave Kentucky defenseless, Clark splits his men and leaves some here to aid in the defense of the frontier.

News that they were to push into enemy territory terrified a number of the men. They would be alone, well behind enemy lines and they imagined they would constantly be surrounded and at the mercy of their foes. This led a group of men to desert. Though Clark sent men in pursuit, he says they were only able to find 7 or 8. The rest had scattered, melting into the wilderness.

On June 24th, 1778, Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark led his troop of approximately 175 men in the Illinois regiment across the Ohio where they marched for what would become the first target of their mission: Kaskaskia (kuss- KAS-key-uh) in modern Randolph County Illinois. This town was an important administrative centre for the British frontier. The original goal had been to take Vincennes (von-sen)in what is now Knox County, Indiana and its accompanying fort. Named Fort Vincennes by the original French settlers, it was ceded to the British after their victory in the French Indian War and renamed Fort Sackville. This offered a key strategic position on the Wabash Rivers Unfortunately, after the dividing of his men and the recent desertion, Clark determined he just did not have the manpower to succeed. He decided to use Kaskaskia, a strategic position itself, to get his foot in the door.

On his way he meets a group of friendly hunters, fresh out of Kaskaskia with the latest news and gossip which is good because their most recent Intel from the town was a year old at this point. Clark is amused to learn the British officers are spreading rumours of the horrible, godless rebels who are out to brutalize anyone they can get their hands on to the point that the pioneers are more scared of them than they were of the Indian tribes which terrified them enough already as they were still collecting scalps at the urging of the british .

Clark and Co. arrive at the town on July 4th. He divides his men into 3 groups, himself taking one to take the fort and the other two at opposite ends of the town. The plan was, when Clark took the fort, the other two groups were run through the streets, making noise and yelling that anyone sticking their head out their doors would be shot on sight.

They continued moving around and making noise, so it seemed like a vast force had the whole surrounded. In this way it was easy for the militia to go door to door and disarm those inside. This was how Kaskaskia was taken without the need of firing a single bullet and no loss of life or injury. After this was accomplished. The citizens were kept in their houses and were forbidden to leave or communicate with each other. Meanwhile Clark was meeting with men individually, interviewing them and gaining information. He found the people to be sympathetic to the cause. Being a French town with British rule forced upon it after they lost the war, they had no great love for the British. After a time the townspeople were allowed to congregate at the church, so long as no one left town. Secrecy was key after all in this secret mission.

A delegation of the men of the town came to Clark, begging him to spare the women and children and to perhaps leave them a tiny bit on which to survive while they were looting.

Clark responds to them, a little tongue in cheek I think, by saying what do you take us for, savages? which is funny because that was EXACTLY what they thought. in the words of Clark himself, taken from his memoirs"

"I asked them very abruptly whether or not they thought they were speaking to savages; that I was certain they did from the tenor of their conversation. Did they suppose that we meant to strip the women and children, or take the bread out of their mouths, or that we would condescend to make war on the women and children or the church?"

This last bit was funny too because as I said, the British told everyone who would listen that the rebels were GODLESS. In fact they would go so far as to say they HATED the church. But the people of Virginia, were this particular troop hailed from, were almost exclusively Anglican. They followed the church OF ENGLAND, same as the British who were spreading the rumours. I call fake news.

Clark tells them he did not come to rob them, but to provide them with protection. All he wanted was peace. He said he did not care one way or the other which side they backed, that was their right. The people were free to return to life as usual and if they were mistreated in any way, the perpetrators would be punished.

Looking to Cahokia, Clark determined to employ a similar strategy. He set Major Joseph Bowman in charge of a brigade for this purpose. Guessing his intention, a number of the men asked to join those setting out, to help the soldiers, tired from their march, in any way they could and to inform the people of Cahokia, who were their family and friends, of the peaceful Intentions of the Americans.

When Clark agrees the men of the town light up. They are so excited at the prospect of joining these heroic men that they get to equipping themselves with gusto. so much so that it was full night before the party got underway so that they arrived the morning of the 6th.

They arrive at the town stealthily. Everyone is at first terrified of the men of the infamous " long knife" , the name given to Clark by his enemies.

Between the men of Kaskaskia and the calming words of Major Bowman, the people of Cahokia were put at ease and given the opportunity to join the cause as their neighbours had done. The jubilant townsfolk celebrated, though some grumbled that the town had been surrendered too easily, but no one paid them any mind. the whole of both towns swore allegiance happily.

These two towns peacefully acquired, their forces bolstered by the French inhabitants, Clark again sets his eyes on his original target, Vincennes.

Even with his fresh, new men, Clark knows he does not have the men needed to take the town and its fort from the British and their native allies.

Clark employed psychological tactics, spreading rumours and misinformation among the native populations. He had all the townsfolk telling everybody that this was only a tiny fraction of the army. A vast host was following behind and would arrive any day now with many more just waiting at the falls of the Ohio. For the second stage of his plan, Clark had inquiries made as to how the people were being treated. finding them generally oppressed in a state of martial law, he had the townies telling everyone who would listen how happy and free they were after numbering themselves among the Americans.

The governor of Vincennes was away at the time and the town was left in the charge of a priest, Father Pierre Gibault who, as it happened, was sympathetic to the American cause. He told Clark that he would talk to his people, relating the happiness of the citizens of Kaskaskia and Cahokia, and he had little doubt he could sway them to the cause. he told Clark that despite the British garrison and angry Natives, Clark would not need to call reinforcements from the falls.

Clark is thrilled. This is exactly what he had hoped to accomplish by churning the rumor mill. He agrees to the Father's plan and on July 14th, Gibault and a small party are back on the road, bound for Vincennes.

After a day of talking to the people, they all gather at the church to swear allegiance and by the end of the day, the American flag is seen flying above the fort. The people of the town told the Indian tribes there that the French father (king) had returned to the land, allying with the long knife and was angry at them for siding with the British. They were instructed to make peace with the Americans. The French had been the favourite of the Native American tribes in the area, so this held great weight to them.

Being a militia, the men under Clark had agreed to volunteer their service for a certain amount of time.

At the time of the war's outbreak, the militia formed the backbone of the American forces. Able bodied men ages 16-60 were required to furnish their own weapons and participate in regular practice maneuvers. While being required to fight to defend their lands, local militia could not be made to leave their county and were only required to serve a certain term, usually three months. At the end of this, their obligation was considered fulfilled and they could return home. This made long range campaigns tricky. For missions like Clark's Illinois campaign, they relied on volunteers who would opt to travel to the given destination and may agree to stay on for a longer period. In the case of this campaign, volunteers were promised a large parcel of land if they made the trek and served their term.

The terms of their service were up but Clark felt his job was not yet done. He convinced a majority of his men to stay on and re-enlist, and took volunteers from their new French allies. He set up garrisons at Cahokia and Kaskaskia under the command of Captains Bowman and Williams respectively. He appointed Captain Leonard Helm to Vincennes as well as agent of Indian Affairs.

Another pressing issue was money. When Clark began this endeavour, he was given ammunition, including 500 pounds of powder and £1200 British. money that is, not the unit of measure. 150 of which were given to a Major William B. Smith for the purpose of recruiting men. Either the Major had no luck or he took the money and ran. Either way, he never materialized with the promised battalion. The rest of this allotment was quickly used up. Clark had a militia of men who needed food and supplies for a long, cross country mission behind enemy lines

. As you can probably imagine, even in those days when money was worth more, this amount probably didn't last long.

He was on the frontier, in the wilderness. He couldn't just roll into town and ask for money and supplies. Even if he could, he was on a secret mission. keyword being secret. Try walking into a military base and asking for a large sum of money and lots of ammo for secret reasons that you cannot tell them and see how that goes for you.

So Clark invested everything he had and begged and borrowed from all his friends and family to make up the difference. Somehow he managed to hold it all together on ever thinning lines of credit to everyone from Virginia to Illinois but he kept it all together for the sake of the mission. He kept receipts and detailed accounts to keep track of what was owed everybody and for what. to submit to the government when this was all over for reimbursement. This was a big risk here. He was staking his reputation and all he had on America winning and there being a stablr government he could submit his receipts to. It was one thing to win a country.. it's a whole nother thing governing it.. But that is looking ahead.

In this area Lived the Piankeshaw tribe of originally a branch of the Miami Indians, they seperated to do their own thing but were still close. Their chief was named Tobacco's Son. he was known as "The Grand Door To The Wabash." Nothing happened along the Wabash without his approval. So it was vital to the cause that they have his support. Clark sends Helm with a letter of introduction explaining their cause.

After much deliberation, Tobacco's Son told them that until then he had not known there was a distinction between British and American. After all, they all looked the same and spoke the same language. but after considering, they had decided the cause of the Americans was just. They would no longer support the British and he would tell the other tribes not to attack.

The chief and his men declared themselves to be long knives too. Clark says that this chief would be a great friend and ally until his death when he asked to be buried beside his American friends and allies. He was given a military burial with honours at the Cahokia garrison. Between his example and at the encouragement of the french merchants, who had long been friends, many other tribes came to Cahokia to make treaties.

Clark had an interesting way of dealing with these tribes. He said he disapproved of the way his government was treating other tribes in the east. With the opinions of the tribes this far west still unsullied by mistreatment by the American grab for land, Clark wanted to set a new precedent in the way such matters were handled. He met with the French and the spanish who had much better relations with the Native Americans because of their policies in dealing with them. And he met with the tribal leaders, to learn more about their culture and traditions. by this he won many over to his cause.

With the forts captured and more delegations from local tribes coming in to seek alliance with the long knives, Clark and his men virtually controlled the territory so a single man could travel the road safely without fear of being molested or otherwise waylaid on his way.

This changes on January 29th, 1779 when Clark receives word that Fort Sackville had been recaptured by the british in December. The British under Governor Hamilton, believing themselves safely unreachable due to the weather, and expecting a large party of reinforcements with warmer weather, were waiting for spring to mount a surprise offensive to drive the Americans out of the territory. An offensive which Clark and the Americans would not be able to survive. Especially given their limited numbers and supplies. This news was disastrous to the American cause.

Clark, knowing inclement weather would keep Hamilton stuck within Fort Sackville, makes a daring move.

He acquires a boat which they mount with 6 cannons. Two four pounders field canons and four swivel guns. Cannon are seperated into classes based on size, shape and type of ammunition. These are further broken up by weight of shot fired. So a four pounder field cannon refers to a field cannon, a mid-sized cannon common on the battlefield of the war, typically rated for shot two to six pounds, these particular guns fired cannon balls that weighed roughly four pounds. Swivel guns are the smallest class of cannon in this period. Their name is derived from the fact that these were mounted on some sort of base, in this case the side rail of a boat, and were set on a swivel, allowing more or less free movement, making aim easier. Due to their small size, they could not shoot large shot, or be effective at range. These were close quarters pieces that fired small rounds or grape shot. Grape shot would be a bunch of small, individual metal pellets packed together and fired in a spread blast. Think like a shotgun shell. Just on a larger scale. This ship was crewed by forty six men under the command of Captains John Rogers. They set out on February 4th, 1779 with the instructions to get into position and lay low. The hope was, since the British believed themselves safe from attack, no sane person would attempt a march through the flooded river and surrounding wetlands in the dead of winter, it was suicide, they would not have spies or guards watching the countryside.

Clark then selects one hundred and seventy men for a grueling trek of eighty leagues (over two hundred and seventy six miles) through the flooded Wabash, which measured roughly six miles across and the surrounding plains, all underwater in the cold and snow and freezing rain. On February 5th, they hear a sermon, are absolved by a priest, and set out. They cross the Kaskaskia river and march another three miles in the rain before making camp. The weather is unseasonably warm, but they are still soaked through and cold by the time they make camp. They gather their strength here in preparation for their long march, resting three days before setting off again on the 8th.

The land is all under several inches of freezing water. Marching is hard, every step a struggle through mud and debris hiding under the murky water with all kinds of snares and unseen pitfalls to catch your feet.

In an effort to keep the men's spirits up, each day a different company would be given the few horses they had and sent to hunt throughout the day. Every night all the men would feast on whatever wild game the hunters had found and in some small way, forget the troubles of the day and the difficulties of tomorrow.

On the 13th they reached the shores of a pair of smaller rivers known as the little Wabashes. These two smaller rivers had come together in their flood state to make one big river, five miles across, averaging two to four feet deep. Imagine, it is winter.. You are slogging through freezing water that goes to your knees at its lowest. At its deepest you sunk to your chest. With every step you feel the suction of the mud trying to hold your feet still in place. With every movement, sticks and roots beneath the murky water trip you. Unseen rocks provide unsteady footing, twisting your ankles. Each step a monumental effort. Every movement a nightmare. All the while the rain pelts you from overhead, soaking what little of you is above the water to the bone. Though it is warmer than usual for this area at this time of year, as soaked as you are, you are soon frozen through. Your limbs stiff and awkward in the cold, your clothes soaking wet and clinging to you like iron bands, further impeding your movements and providing no warmth or protection from the elements. Your arms aching with fatigue from holding your gun and equipment over your head in a vain attempt to keep them dry. You mis step, a root snags your foot, twisting it beneath you. Your hands full of equipment and uselessly above your head, unable to clutch at anything to prevent it, you fall, plunging into the river. Your companions help lift you out of the water. What little warmth you had felt as you body acclimated to the temperature of the water is gone. The wind cuts right through you as you continue doggedly on, one step at a time. Yet no one complains. every eye is set ahead, focused on their unseen goal, still hundreds of miles away. You know that if you don't make it here, it will mean death for you and your friends, family and neighbours who are marching beside you, just as miserable, cold and wet as you are. Clark and your other superiors each taking their turns, marching along beside you, encouraging you to press on. Which you do. Even if you had the chance to rest, you wouldn't be able to in this flood plain. There is nothing but to press on. one foot in front of the other, one laborious step closer to your distant goal. This is what awaited them. and this was only the beginning of their trek.

They camped on a hill there, blessedly dry above the waterline, looking out over the solid sheet of water that went on for miles in front of them. Staring out like this, seeing this impossible task for what it was, Clark begins to lose heart. His men had waded longer stretches than this, but in more agreeable weather, and never this deep. He was asking his men for all the strength they had and more. He was asking the impossible. and he knew it. To cover his own unease he casually has the men build a pirogue (peer-rogue) a small canoe made from a hollowed out log, like it was just another day at the office. Eager to be working at something other than walking, the men set to it with gusto. Since only a handful could work at a time, Clark has them rotate, working in shifts, while he and the officers took great pains to keep the rest of them busy and distracted, lightening their spirits.

When the canoe is done, he sends a few scouts ahead to paddle across and to check river conditions and find a dry spot to camp.

The scouting party returns and on the 15th they begin to cross. The sick were loaded on the small canoe to make their crossing easier.

They follow the trail marked out for them by the scouts and they reach the hill designated that evening. They arrive in high spirits, despite their toil, sitting and laughing together poking fun at this company or that, pantomiming this person or that exaggerated stumbling around while a drummer boy amused the men by floating on his drum in the river. They had done the impossible that day. They had emerged victorious as conquering giants in their minds. If they could do this, they could truly do anything. The British wouldn't stand a chance. In their minds the bigger Wabash was nothing but a little creek, it might be daunting for ordinary men, but it would be nothing to them.

We're going to leave it here for now, on this high note. We'll return next time to find out the fate of George Rogers Clark and his long knives as they make their way on this daring campaign to rescue their friends and retake the fort.