F76.4B

The Battle of the North East
Febuary, 30th 1779

Of the many battles during this war of revolution, a great victory, and amazingly important, is the Battle of Vincennes. The only full-scale battle in the mid-west, Lieutenant Colonel George Clark led troops through a flooded wasteland to fight a force much bigger than theirs. Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton lived in his fort with a small force not expecting anyone to come and challenge him. Most people didn't expect the Patriots to come out on top since Hamilton's force was five times larger than the Patriot force of about 200. With a little psychological warfare, Clark went down in history as one of the greatest military minds in history.

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Though the battle was two days long, Clark had marched a long way to get to Vincennes. Not only that, but the terrain was wet from rain and floods all across Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. At times, the water would be up to the shoulders of the soldiers. Francis Vigo, a spanish trader who found Clark in the frontier, informed the entire unit about the capture of the fort. Then Hamilton took the fort and expected to be safe since he was so secluded in the forest of the mid-west. He sent most of his men and friendly indians home. Hamilton had 1,000 men in his fort, but none expected Clark to come or even win with his forces. The journey was a long and hard battle for the troops. The frontier was cold and rainy with floods and flash floods everywhere. At the Little Wabash River, the branches flooded and formed one 5-mile-wide river that the men had to cross. On February 20, Clark's men caught some hunters and learned that they were detected by the British. The Battle of Vincennes started on February 23,1779 and ended on the 25th of February. George Clark, with no military background, stormed southern Illinois and the Ohio Valley with their allies, the French. The Patriots had much more ammo from the French and civilians who were in favor of the Patriots and the colonies. One person that helped a lot was Francois Busseron. He lived in the fort and, like the other citizens, was in favor of the Patriots. He actually buried the better ammo of the British.=====

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Once Clark arrived, he sent some of his soldiers with Captain Joseph Bowmen and marched on opposite sides of the fort. He used psychological warfare and made the British believe that there were more troops than there actually were. Giving his men multiple flags, he moved small units up and down a hillside just out of view from the fort. Flags represent one whole unit and with 24 flags, the British thought there were 2,000 troops marching around the fort. Hamilton didn't notice the fight until a stray bullet flew through the window and hit his friend who was playing cards. While fighting, two french traders and three indians walked through the battle and were caught. Clark let the frenchmen go, but kept the indians. He then brought the indians to the gate of the fort and tomahawked their heads. This was meant to send a statement to the British that Clark and his men wouldn't show mercy. During the battle, a Piankeshan chief named Young Tobacco, offered 100 men to help the Patriots. Though it would be a great help, Clark denied the men, thinking that the Indians might kill his men by mistake. They fought for two days and finally the Patriots came out on top. On February 25, 1779, Hamilton surrendered and left with his troops. When he saw the size of Clark's army, it is said that a tear fell down his cheek in sheer embarassment.=====

There are many views to this battle. Patriots see it as another victory on the fight to freedom and a great gain since the fort is on the new frontier. The British just see a sad example of war since Hamilton had more men and yet he still lost. The Spanish and French want the Patriots to win the war and are happy that the British suffered another loss. Neutral views vary, but most see another useless fight in a war that kills so many innocent people. This war might have started from many things. One thought may have been that the British wanted to take over the frontier and that would leave the Patriots surrounded. It might have started from the French and Indian war with a fort that insulted the Indians. The Patriots took the fort, but the British promised the Indians their land back if they helped get the fort. This was a great victory since it gave control of the frontier to the Patriots. Hamilton expected to use the newly aquired frontier as a starting point to push the Patriots back to the coast and that is what he will do.

Reported by: Peter Loferski and Carter Semancik