CLARK'S NORTHWEST CAMPAIGN

CLARK'S NORTHWEST CAMPAIGN. During the early years of the American Revolution, the British exercised undisputed control over the country northwest of the Ohio River. Detroit served as the headquarters for the uncounted Native American war parties against colonial settlements south of the Ohio River. George Rogers Clark perceived that Kentucky could best be defended by the conquest of Detroit. Too weak to make a frontal attack on Detroit, however, he directed his first blow against the towns of the French in Illinois. Kaskaskia was occupied on 4 July 1778, and the remaining Illinois towns, including Vincennes, were easily persuaded to join the rebel standard. On learning of these developments, Lt. Gov. Henry Hamilton of Detroit prepared a counterstroke. He reclaimed Vincennes on 17 December, but instead of pushing on against Kaskaskia, Hamilton dismissed his Indian allies and settled down for the winter.

Perceiving an opportunity, Clark led his army of 170 men eastward across Illinois to tempt his fate at Vincennes. After thirty-six hours of battle, Hamilton yielded his fort and garrison to the rebel leader on 24 February 1779. Although the conquest of Detroit, Clark's ultimate goal, was never attained, he retained his grip on the southern end of the Northwest Territory until the close of the war. This possession proved an important factor in obtaining the Northwest for the United States in the Definitive Treaty of Peace of 1783.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bakeless, John Edwin. Background to Glory: The Life of George Rogers Clark. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1957.

Harrison, Lowell H. George Rogers Clark and the War in the West. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1976.

James, James Alton. The Life of George Rogers Clark. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1928.

Sutton, Robert M. "George Rogers Clark and the Campaign in the West: The Five Major Documents." Indiana Magazine of History 76, no. 4 (December 1980): 334–345.

M. M.Quaife/a. r.

See alsoBackcountry and Backwoods ; Revolution, American: Military History ; Revolution, American: Political History ; Paris, Treaty of (1783) .