Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/67

 HISTOEY OF OHIO.

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��Through his aid, Clarke procured the necessary au- thority to prosecute his plans, and returned at once to Pittsburgh. He intended raising men about this post, but found them fearful of leaving their homes unprotected. However, he secured three companies, and, with these and a number of volun- teers, picked up on the way down the Ohio River, he fortified Corn Island, near the falls, and made ready for his expedition. He had some trouble in keeping his men, some of those from Kentucky refusing to aid in .subduing stations out of their own country. He did not announce his real inten- tions till he had reached this point. Here Col. Bowman joined him with his Kentucky militia, and, on the 24th of June, 1778, during a total eclipse of the sun, the party left the fort. Before his start, he learned of the capture of Burgoyne, and, when nearly down to Fort Massac, he met some of his spies, who informed him of the exag- gerated accounts of the ferocity of the Long Knives that the French had received from the British. By proper action on his part, Clarke saw both these items of information could be made very beneficial to him. Leaving the river near Fort Massac, he set out on the march to Kaskas- kia, through a hot summer's sun, over a country full of savage foes. They reached the town un- noticed, on the evening of July 4, and, before the astonished British and French knew it, they were all prisoners. M. Rocheblave, the English commander, was secured, but his wife adroitly con- cealed the papers belonging to the garrison. In the person of M. Gibault, the French priest, Clarke found a true friend. When the true character of the Virginians became apparent, the French were easily drawn to the American side, and the priest secured the surrender and allegiance of Cahokia through his personal influence. M. Gibault told him he would also secure the post at St. Vincent's, which he did, returning from the mission about the 1st of August. During the interval, Clarke re- enlisted his men, formed his plans, sent his pris- oners to Kentucky, and was ready for future action when M. Gibault arrived. He sent Capt. Helm and a single soldier to Vincennes to hold that fort until he could put a garrison there. It is but pn)per to state that the English commander, Col. Hamilton, and his band of soldiers, were absent at Detroit when the priest secured the village on the "Ouabache." When Hamilton returned, in the autumn, he was greatly surprised to see the Amer- ican flag floating from the ramparts of the fort, and when approaching the gate he was abruptly

��halted by Capt. Helm, who stood with a lighted fuse in his hand by a cannon, answering Hamilton's demand to surrender with the imperative inquiry, "Upon what terms, sir?" "Upon the honors of war," answered Hamilton, and he marched in greatly chagrined to see he had been halted by two men. The British commander sat quietly down, intending to go on down the river and sub- due Kentucky in the spring, in the mean time off'ering rewards for American scaljjs, and thereby gaining the epithet " Hair-buyer General." Clarke heard of his actions late in January, 1779, and, as he says, " I knew if I did not take him he would take me," set out early in February with his troops and marched across the marshy plains of Lower Illinois, reaching the Wabash post by the 22d of that month. The unerring aim of the Westerner was effectual. " They will shoot your eyes out," said Helm to the British troops. " There, I told you so," he further exclaimed, as a soldier vent- ured near a port-hole and received a shot directly in his eye. On the 24th the fort surrendered. The American flag waved again over its ramparts. The " Hair-buyer General" was sent a prisoner to Virginia, where he was kept in close confinement for his cruel acts. Clarke returned to Kaskaskia, perfected his plans to hold the Illinois settlements, went on to Kentucky, from where he sent word to the colonial authorities of the success of his expe- dition. Had he received the aid promised him, Detroit, in ea.sy reach, would have fallen too, but Gen. Green, failing to send it as promised, the capt- ure of that important post was delayed.

Had Clarke failed, and Hamilton succeeded, the whole West would have been swept, from the Alle- ghanies to the Mississippi. But for this small army of fearless Virginians, the union of all the triljes from Georgia to Maine against the colonies might have been eff"ected, and the whole current of American history changed. America owes Clarke and his band more than it can ever pay. Clarke reported the capture of Kaskaskia and the Illinois country early after its surrender, and in October the county of Illinois was established, extending over an unlimited expanse of country, by the Virginia Legislature. John Todd was appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Governor. In November, Clarke and his men received the thanks of the same body, who, in after years, secured them a grant of land, which they selected on the right bank of the Ohio River, opposite Louisville. They expected here a city would rise one day, to be the peer of Louisville, then coming

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