(This article first appeared in the October print edition of the Hendersonian.)
If you’re seeking a little bit more of a history lesson during this 250th anniversary of the United States, a different angle from that of the New England patriots’ experience can be found a short drive away in Vincennes, Indiana.
There, the story of the American Revolution on the frontier is told at George Rogers Clark National Historic Park.
Clark, the older brother of famed explorer William Clark (of the Lewis & Clark expedition) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who was the highest-ranking military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Revolutionary War.
In those days, Kentucky was still part of Virginia, and Clark was the leader of the Virginia militia throughout much of the war. (He also is credited as the founder of Louisville in 1778.)
He is perhaps best known for his capture of the British-held settlements of Kaskaskia, Ill., in 1778 and of Vincennes, Ind., in 1779.
In those days, the British were partnering with war parties of Native Americans to attack pioneer settlers who were ignoring orders not to settle on land west of the Appalachians.
Clark petitioned Virginia governor Patrick Henry to allow him to go on the offensive against those adversaries to the American settlers, which he did. Clark’s plan was to lead a force of frontiersmen and marksmen into the Illinois country and strike at the source of the raids.
In a lot of back-and-forth taking-and-retaking of territory, eventually Clark and his men were triumphant in securing and holding the British fortifications in what is now Illinois and Indiana and weakening the British influence in the Northwest Territory.
It did involve a grueling 18-day wintertime trek in armpit high backwater to launch one last surprise assault on Fort Sackville at Vincennes, but that was part of the amazing story of revolution on the frontier.
The offensive earned Clark the nickname “Conqueror of the Old Northwest.” Four years later, the British gave up the entire Territory to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. That territory now includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and the eastern portion of Minnesota.
The British were no longer positioned as well to attack the patriots from the western flank.
So that’s the Revolutionary War history lesson from the frontier in a nutshell.
But there’s much more detail about Clark’s Illinois Campaign at the National Historic Park and its Visitors Center. The grounds are lovely.
The exact location of the fort is not known. It is believed that it was located on the present-day George Rogers Clark National Historical Park. Archaeological evidence suggests that the fort’s front wall was roughly between the Clark Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial Bridge over the Wabash.
At the Visitors Center, a 30-minute introductory movie called “Long Knives” shares the backstory of George Rogers Clark and his campaign during the American Revolution.
The George Rogers Clark National Historical Park is located within the city of Vincennes, which is a historic city. Founded in 1732 by French fur traders (including Francois-Marie Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes), it is located on the lower Wabash River halfway between Evansville and Terre Haute. It is the oldest continually inhabited European settlement in Indiana and is one of the oldest settlements west of the Appalachians.
Information: www.nps.gov/gero
Other things to see and do in Vincennes in addition to visiting its historic district:
• Grouseland, the mansion home of William Henry Harrison, 9th president of the U.S.
• Fort Knox II, the site of the launch of the Tippecanoe Campaign in 1811. There’s a self-guided tour of the fort’s outline.
• The Indiana Military Museum. Info: indianamilitarymuseum.org • The Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy (on the campus of Vincennes University.)
