George Rogers Clark part 2

This is a transcript of episode 13 of the We're All Stories Podcast. You can listen to the episode here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1685008/9028811

Welcome back for another look into the life of George Rogers Clark and his exploits during the revolutionary war! When we last left our friends, the long knives, they had just successfully crossed the twin little wabash rivers on a daring Winter march through wilderness to reclaim Fort Sackville and save their friends, Captain Leonard Helm and his men!

Inside Fort Sackville, the British were busy at work repairing and renovating, confiscating supplies from the townsfolk and laying up food stores for winter. Meanwhile Captain Helm and his men were hanging out in prison, doing prison things, like probably getting ripped or whatever people do there.

Sometime after the British took the fort, Tobacco's Son and some of his tribe comes to visit his American brothers and finds the place filled with British soldiers. The British lay out the red carpet for him, trying to win his favour and that of his tribe. When Tobacco's Son hears that Helm is imprisoned within, he insists on joining his friend in jail and only eats what Helm eats. Governor Henry Hamilton is still trying to earn this powerful chief's support and gives him anything he asks. Hamilton tries to invite Tobacco's Son to parties and dinners and the like but much to Hamilton's disappointment, Tobacco's Son turns down all invitations saying he can't, he's locked up. A prisoner doesn't go to fancy parties. An, I imafine, exasperated Hamilton exclaims 'You're not "locked up" your door isn't locked see?' he maybe swings the door open and closed a few times to prove his point, 'you can just walk out anytime you want. But Tobacco's Son tells Hamilton that these men, his friends are imprisoned for being long knives, so he should be with them, because he is a long knife too. During this time, Tobacco's Son and Captain Leonard Helm become fast friends

Back in the wilderness:

After their successful crossing, the men were all elated. they were invincible!

George Rogers Clark on the other hand had his doubts which he kept carefully guarded from view of his men. With this crossing they were officially in enemy territory with their backs to a wall. if an enemy patrol happened upon them, they would have nowhere to run. And what if the ship they had sent ahead never made it to its destination, or worse, been captured by the enemy? They were marching blind and the worst of their journey was still ahead.

On February 17th he sends a party of four on ahead to scout. They find the whole of the country ahead to be under water. They finally find a reasonably dry bit of land to camp late that night.

They are roused early the next morning by the morning gun from the garrison, booming out in the winter quiet. They awoke and continued the march. Around 2 O'clock they at least reach the near banks of the Wabash.

Clark sends out two small scout parties with rafts to try and find the best way across and maybe some canoes of some sort to commandeer and bring back to aid them in their crossing. Meanwhile he had other men building canoes. If luck was with them and they were able to meet up with the boat they had sent ahead, this fleet of canoes would be handy to have.

The scouting parties came back empty handed. The first party was unable to make it across and turned back. The second made it to the far side when they spotted an enemy camp and had to make a hasty retreat to avoid being spotted.

Clark's long knives had bravely and brightly made it to this point without complaint but this bleak news nearly broke them. they began to talk of turning back. The road ahead was impossible, they would not survive. better to run back the way they had come. This was suicide.

At this point, Clark says he was, in his own words, "past all uneasiness. ``When he hears his men talking about turning back he doesn't judge them or condemn them for speaking this way. He just laughs and sends a party out to hunt. Just another Monday, nothing worth getting worked up about. Seeing this, the men take heart and their courage is renewed. If Clark is so confident of their success, then there must be a chance.

They continue the march. On the 21st of February their french guides tell clark that a league out there should be an island called Sugar Camp on the bank of the river proper but when a canoe was sent out, they couldn't find the location.

Clark wades out to check the depth of the river himself. The water easily came to his neck, so that just his head was above the surface.

At this point, with the whole area underwater as it was, hunting was scarce. With nothing to eat the men were starving. The horses, having been rendered useless had had to be given up, so they had no provisions save what they could carry with them. They could make canoes, load up onto them and attempt to make it across in this way but this would take time. And crossing the river safely in a canoe would be hard, and take time as they tried to navigate through the trees and bushes, the canoes snagging on the branches.

Clark has a serious council with one of his officers. Though the men cannot hear what they are saying, their facial expressions tell them all they need to know. They begin to panic.

Clark sees the panic in their eyes and whispers to those near him to follow his lead and do as he does. He scoops some water in his hand and pours some black powder in it. making a black paste which he smears on his face. He "gives a warwhoop" and wordlessly plunges headlong into the water. The men that had been beside him follow suit and soon the whole troop was up to their chins in water. Clark has the men next to him start up a marching song and soon the lot of them were singing along as they marched, their panic forgotten.

As they went along, one of the men said they felt a path under their feet. Clark says that you can easily tell a path by feel with your feet. I will take his word for it, but then again, he and his men were much greater outdoorsmen than you or I and so were probably much better suited to make that judgement. They followed the "path" and came to Sugar Camp where there was a small bit of ground which, while not dry, was not underwater on which to camp.

The french volunteers they had with them begged Clark for permission to board some canoes and, them being natives of Vincennes, to sneak into their houses to grab whatever supplies they were able to help provision the small army and on this way to wait out the weather and march again once the waters had receded.

Though he cannot say why exactly, just that something about this didn't feel right, or some inner obstinacy kept him from acquiescing to their requests (for those of you not familiar with pirates of the Caribbean, it means no)

Instead he musters the men. That night had been the coldest of their journey yet, everything was under a sheet of ice he says was ½to ¾ inch thick. Clark stands before his men, the ground slick with ice, his breath fogging the air in front of his face. The only sounds: the shuddering breaths of his men and the crackling of the ice that had formed on their clothes breaking with each movement as they sit, huddled and cold yet attentive to what this man would say. They had followed him through hell, were willing to die for him. Now they stared at him like lost children looking at a grownup, cold and hurt, needing him to tell them what to do.

He tells them the end is literally in sight, just there, on the other side of the river. In just a few short hours they will be at their destination. Then without another word, or waiting for a reply, Clark plunged into the river on foot, never turning back to see if they were following, yet confident they would. The men let out a ragged cheer and without a second thought, jump into the freezing water behind their hero.

A third of the way in, Clark senses some at the back of the line had their doubts. He casually calls back to Major Bowman to take a team of twenty five men two bring up the rear and to kill anyone who turns tail. you know, just in case. After all, they were a band of heroes, they didn't need any cowards holding them back. At this, the men's courage was bolstered and they cheered out an affirmative. Imagine that, any of them cowardly enough to turn around and run! Not them!

Crossing this plain, Clark tells us, was the hardest yet. The water was not so deep as in other places, only about knee high, but while before there had been trees and bushes to lend support and to help the men pull themselves along, here there was nothing. Just them, fighting the current through sheer strength and force of will. Clark and twenty of his strongest men were leading the way and they were faltering, barely making it. if they were struggling this hard and they were the strongest of the lot, what of those weaker, or who had fallen sick? They would not survive. And they were only halfway across.

He sent men on ahead to find where the water was shallower to turn and yell encouragement to those coming behind. He had men in the canoes going up and down the line, encouraging the rest and lending a hand to pull those who were overpowered by the force of the river up out of the water.

This greatly encouraged the men, finding reserves of strength they never knew they had, often arm in arm, with some of the weaker being carried by one or two of his stronger companions they pressed on.

They make it across the plain to the treeline, where they thought land was supposed to be but the water only got deeper and deeper until Clark and his men were submerged up to their shoulders.

While disheartening, having the trees there at least gave those that needed the support a chance to cling to a tree when they reached the end of their strength until they could be picked up by a canoe, instead of needing to be carried, else to fall, flailing in the water.

Clark sent the strongest men ahead where they eventually found land and set to building fires, pulling those that came behind out of the water to where they could warm themselves. Many of the men, the water, had been the only thing holding them up. When they reached the shallows, they found their legs no longer had the strength to support them and collapsed, having to be carried the rest of the way.

Some of the men happened to notice a canoe heading into town. They gave chase and found it to be full of trade goods including corn and a large chunk of Buffalo as well as pots and pans. They commandeered these supplies to bring back. They used this to make a thin broth to feed the men which they dished out a small portion of for each of the men. Though many of the stronger men gave their portions to the weak and sick, joking that they didn't need it, and generally cheering their comrades up.

They came across another body of water, a deep lake this time, that was thankfully narrow. They took turns crossing in the canoes and made it across without trouble or incident. This put them in a copse of trees aptly named Warrior Island. This put them right in view of the fort. Clark says there was not so much as a shrubbery, no matter how nice, in the two miles between them and the fort. With this clear view of the fort, so near at hand, the men's morale and strength are renewed. this is what it had all been for. Now that they were at last here, adrenaline kicked in and they were ready to go.

Now the land here was not flat and there were puddles scattered about with ducks chilling out in them here and there there were bored young men on horses shooting at the ducks, some of them no more than half a mile from their location. They went out in secret and captured one of these men to get the latest news from the fort. What they heard was not exactly the best of news.

The repairs and extra fortifications on the fort had just finished that day and there was a large force of Indians in the fort. Clark estimates that all told, soldiers, allied Indians and villagers, there were about six hundred men in there behind the newly repaired and strengthened walls. the boat he had sent ahead with canons and supplies had never appeared. They were stranded in this small group of trees with their backs to an impassable body of water. With all these men riding about, making sport of the ducks, it was only a matter of time before they were spotted. The only way was forward and it was now or never. Clark drafts a letter to the townsfolk and sends it in by way of their prisoner whom they released. The letter reads like this:

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 that those, if any there be, that are friends to the king of England, will instantly repair to the fort and join his troops and fight like men. And if any such as do not go to the fort should hereafter be discovered that did not repair to the garrison, they may depend on severe punishment. On the contrary, those who are true friends to liberty may expect to be well treated as such, and I once more request that they may keep out of the streets, for every person found under arms, on my arrival, will be treated as an enemy.

(Signed)

G. R. CLARK.

The point of this letter was twofold. one, if any were for the cause, it would keep them out of harms way and 2) it would help rattle the British and their allies. He seemed fully confident that the fort would be taken, he must have the means and numbers to back up his claim.

To add to this effect, Clark himself appeared with a group of men to treat with persons acquainted with them so the British could see it really was Clark, the feared long knife, not some poser, and to further rattle them with his seeming confidence. The men with him were instructed to casually allude to their numbers being over a thousand strong, much more than the inhabitants of the fort were able to defend against.

They sat and watched the fort for a while to see how it would react. Though they could spy much activity, there were no alarm bells or cannon fire. They had apparently been expected.

There was nothing else for it but to march forward and hope for the best. They waited for sunset so there was enough light still to see them advance but by the time they were halfway it was too dark for those inside the fort to clearly see to make out their numbers. While they had been waiting, they had captured several more fowler and taken their horses so Clark and his officers could be mounted. They raised up a dozen patrol flags and had them distributed out so it looked like there were several companies represented. They also used the uneven, hilly landscape of the clearing to hide their numbers. All of this was to make it seem like their numbers were many times what little they actually had.Under cover of darkness, Clark had a company of men draw back and circle around to the rear of the fort to light fires and march on the back of the fort so it seemed they had the place surrounded.

Clark orders a small company of fourteen men under the command of a lieutenant Bailey to march and fire upon the fort. While this was going on, a second company was sent into the town surrounding the fort to take up fortifiable locations therein.

At this point the fort is in a panic, the alarm ringing out and the men roused from the garrison. Apparently to celebrate the completion of the fort walls, the men had partied hard and retired early, before Clark's letter had arrived. What they had mistook for knowing anticipation was actually the British soldiers sleeping one off. The townspeople that had seen it shut themselves indoors so no one had been able to inform the fort to sound the alarm. Everything seemed to be going perfectly.

Since the boat with their supplies had never appeared, ammunition was very scarce. When the British had taken the fort, they had seized all the merchants' supplies for the crown. Seeing this, some of the merchants had taken pains to bury some of their stock outside the fort. This they now produced and presented to Clark and his men. Though those cannons sure would have been nice against these walls, at least they had fresh powder and ammunition.

Inside the fort, Captain Leonard Helm and the men of the garrison that had been left in their British prison took the opportunity of the attack to have some fun and in general cause some damage.

As I said before, there was a large number of Indians visiting the fort. Well it turns out a bunch of them were Tobacco's Son and his men who immediately offered to throw in with their friends the long knives. Tobacco's Son also promised a large amount of reinforcements from his tribe that could be there by morning. Clark turned him down and asked The chief and his men to sit this one out. The majority of their enemy were other native Americans. in the dark and the heat of battle, Clark did not want to risk his friend or his men by having them fired upon by accident. Instead, Tobacco's Son's men withdrew while the man himself provided council and served in an advisory role during the battle.

Clark had his men surround the fort and kept firing nonstop all through the night until morning when they took a fifteen minute break from 8:45 until 9 am that morning.

While this was going on, Clark fortified his position using fences from the town and whatever else came to hand so that when the sun arose. The men of the fort found themselves looking at a ring fort that surrounded their own walls, manned by what seemed like a massive number of men. Owing to poor craftsmanship, the fort's cannon were mounted in such a way that they had very little range of movement. all the shells from the canon passed harmlessly over the head of the Americans entrenched outside. Clark's men, being seasoned woodsmen. well practiced at hiding themselves had concealed their location so it seemed like the gunfire were coming from everywhere at once but the British and their allies could not see them to get an accurate count, not to mention be able to shoot anything. As a result, injuries among the Americans were kept to an extreme minimum, just one or two according to Clark. The fort had to frequently close the canon ports and withdraw because. Seeing an opening, Clark's marksmen would pick off the cannon crew of the British, so that they took out sometimes seven or eight men at a time whenever they tried to use their cannon. Which were ineffectual anyway so yeah.

Clark's men would shout and hurl abuse and in general trash talk the fort's defenders, to anger them into opening a window or port to return fire, only to have upwards to fifty cut down by Clark's sharpshooter before the British could slam the hatch closed.

Another psychological tactic Clark employed was at different times throughout the day and night, Clark would have a number of his men focus extra heavy fire at one given spot on the wall, only to abruptly stop to have his men laugh and talk like they were just letting off steam for fun at the end of their rotation and were replaced by a fresh company to take their place. Again making it seem like their forces were much stronger than they were, like they had companies of reserves sitting at their leisure somewhere to rotate in at intervals and to further the illusion of their confidence in taking the fort. all this firing now was just sport. any minute they would march in and take the fort. This fear kept the enemy on edge.

At some point during the day, a small band of twenty or so English reinforcements arrives at the fort. Clark has his men pull back and cease fire around noon, letting these British reinforcements enter the fort. The enemy took this to mean that the forces against them were so large that they didn't care if fresh reinforcements arrived. Really though they probably just didn't want to be surprised from behind by a British patrol to realize and expose their weakness. remember, their whole strategy is built on them making the British think they were several times their small numbers. One hundred seventy had originally set out with Clark in the beginning. These were added to somewhat by allies within the town who had gotten permission to join them but they were still only around 200 strong against probably at least twice that within the fort. The whole illusion hung by a thread. As the last of the British reinforcements scaled the walls, fire began anew with redoubled effort and deafening effect.

On the evening of the 24th, Hamilton threw up a flag and had this letter sent to Clark:

Governor Hamilton proposes to Colonel Clark a truce for three days, during which time he proposes there shall be no defensive work carried on in the garrison, on condition that Colonel Clark shall observe, on his part, a like cessation of any offensive work. That is, he wishes to confer with Colonel Clark as soon as can be, and promises, that, whatever may pass between these two and another person, mutually agreed upon to be present, shall remain secret till matters be finished, as he wishes that, whatever the result of their conference, it may be to the honor and credit of each party. If Colonel Clark makes a difficulty of coming into the fort, Lieutenant Governor Hamilton will speak to him by the gate.

(Signed) 24th. February, 1779.

HENRY HAMILTON.

Clark was taken aback at this. The men held the opinion that it was so the British could capture Clark and force the surrender of the American troops. Clark himself doubted Hamilton would besmirch his honour in this way but was at a loss to figure out his real reasons. His suspicion was that there must be reinforcements on the way. This possibility and the fact that while they had themselves extremely limited supplies and the men were completely exhausted by their trek, the British were well rested and comfortable and had enough stores to stand a month siege or more. Clark and his men could in no way survive this long. Time was of the essence. So Clark sent back this reply:

Colonel Clark's compliments to Governor Hamilton, and begs leave to inform him that he will not agree to any other terms than that of Mr. Hamilton surrendering himself and garrison prisoners at discretion. If Mr. Hamilton is desirous of a conference with Colonel Clark, he will meet him at the church, with Captain Helm, 24th February, 1779.

G. R. CLARK.

If you recall, Helm was currently held prisoner along with his men within the fort.

Hamilton agrees and soon he and his second. a Major Hay, zhamilton's Superintendentof Indian Affairs, arrive at the designated church with Helm in tow, to bet met by Clark, accompanied by Major Bowman.

Hamilton proposes surrender on the condition that he and his men be allowed to retreat to Pensacola. This is rejected by Clark. He is then invited to propose his own terms. Clark proposes nothing short of unconditional surrender with Hamilton and his men be held prisoner with the promise that they would be well treated. Clark further tells Hamilton that this is his only option to save his men and time is of the essence. the Americans are impatient to charge in and take the fort but that Clark himself is holding them back to prevent the slaughter of Hamilton's men, which he says he views as murder because they stand no chance against the outstanding force arrayed against them. He then plays on the British propaganda depicting the Americans as bloodthirsty, vicious savages, saying that if his men are given permission to storm the fort, they will tear it to the ground and brutally kill all inside. Their viciousness and lust for blood is so strong that Clark and his officers will be quite unable to control them and keep them from having their fun.

There is some back and forth with Helm trying to act as moderator but in the end they come to no agreement and they decide to withdraw, Helm returning to captivity with the British and Clark promising a fifteen minute ceasefire to allow Hamilton to safely re enter the fort.

As he was departing, Hamilton turns and "politely" inquires why Clark would agree to no other terms than these. Clark replies that he knows many of the faction of partisans from Detroit who had been responsible for paying the local tribes to scalp the innocent settlers, including men, women and children were known to be currently within the fort and Clark wanted them in custody to stand for their crimes. Hay suspiciously asks who he means by this to which Clark replies "'Sir,' I replied, 'I take Major Hay to be one of the principals.'" Hay immediately goes pale and begins trembling to the point where he can barely stand.

Hamilton and Hay return to the fort and pass the night, the next morning, the morning of the 25th, the fort presents itself and articles of surrender are drafted and signed.

In the course of the afternoon of the 24th the following articles [Major Bowman's MS. journal] were signed and the garrison capitulated:

"1. Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton engages to deliver up to Colonel Clark Fort Sackville, as it is at present, with all the stores, etc.

2. The garrison are to deliver themselves as prisoners of war and march out, with their arms and accoutrements, etc.

3. The garrison to be delivered up at ten o'clock to-morrow.

4. Three days' time to be allowed the garrison to settle their accounts with the inhabitants and traders of this place.

5. The officers of the garrison to be allowed their necessary baggage, etc.

Signed at Post St. Vincent [Vincennes], 24th February, 1779.

Agreed, for the following reasons: The remoteness from succor, the state and quantity of provisions, etc.; 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."

They had won. George Rogers Clark had successfully taken the fort and captured the ranking British officer of the territory without losing a single man.

News of the winter march to retake Vincennes spread like wildfire. He was declared an American hero. The story of his success was used by Washington to win the French over to their cause, giving the Americans a victory. proving that they could be a match to the British. Previously the French, while sympathetic to the American cause, and being old enemies of the British had wanted to help but a lack of American victories made the French leery of sending aid. Clark's campaign changed this and marked a turning point in the war.

With this victory, the American forces were now the dominant force in the western front of the war and were now in control of the frontier territory.

The state of Virginia was not slow to capitalise on Clark's victory either. They used the opportunity to take all the land Clark had won for themselves, adding Illinois County Virginia to Kentucky County, making Virginia by far the largest state in the union.

The big question now is what to do with these British prisoners of war. The fear was that when they saw how few their enemy’s numbers really were, they would turn and retake the fort. Many of the troops in the fort were disenfranchised British or ordinary citizens pressed into service. Many of these, rather than being imprisoned were allowed to return to their homes after taking oath they would not again take up arms against America. They were given boats and provisions needed to make this return trip and were told to sell the boats on arrival and to divide the money amongst themselves as a gesture of goodwill. spies were sent along with them in the guise of merchants to keep an eye on them. They reported that along the way they stopped in and would tell anyone who would listen of the defeat of the british and the graciousness of the Americans, greatly harming the vision of British invincibility and putting the lie to the tales of rebel barbarity in the eyes of the common people across the country. A number of these men loudly declared that they had swore not to take up arms against America, but had taken no such oath not to rise up FOR America and joined the cause against the British along with their friends and neighbours.

On the 27th, the boat that had been sent out in advance with the greater part of their supplies at last materialized, aghast that they had missed all the excitement. Bearing dispatches that a good number of reinforcements were due to arrive imminently. While good news, this gave very little time to figure out what their next move was. The ultimate goal of capturing fort Detroit seemed so near, yet with so little time to plan and prepare, prospects looked grim. Clark immediately shut up in council to decide what would come next.

The problem was this. If they wanted to take Detroit, they would have to act now. It was currently weakened by the loss of the men who had taken Fort Sackville. If Clark and his men waited for the reinforcements to arrive in spring, news of their victory would have spread and the British would no doubt greatly reinforce Detroit to make it impossible to take. But while their numbers had been bolstered by British defectors and townsfolk from Vincennes, they were still too weak. Clark was sure that he would be able to convey their need to the government to have reinforcements sent to help man the fort once it was taken but if for any reason those reinforcements did not arrive, they would have no way to hold Detroit. The general sentiment among the men was to hold and wait for reinforcements. They were tired from their long march and subsequent battle and few in number. The odds were not in their favour. On the other hand, as Clark says: "prudence appeared to forbid execution." It was now or never. Cooler heads prevailed and it was decided to wait until June.

On March 7th, a party set out to transfer the British officers to Williamsburg by way of Kentucky via the falls of the Ohio. Clark sent a dispatch to Governor Patrick Henry to tell him of their victory and one to the commandant of Kentucky to ascertain just how many troops they could expect to arrive in June.

The weather which as I said before had been unseasonably warm takes a turn for the worse and they have a miserable month of march. being confined to quarters with little or nothing to do, and with the cold of winter setting in with a vengeance, the trials of the past month at last catch up with the men. Many of them fall sick and a number of them do not survive. Clark tells us that few of the survivors, including himself, would ever fully recover.

We will leave this here for today. Next time we will pick things up with the long knives as the battle for the frontier winds down.