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The
Battle for Fort Sackville
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George Rogers Clark and the Battle for Fort Sackville in Vincennes.. on this Moment of Indiana History.
During
the revolutionary war, the British army set up an outpost at Detroit and
formed alliances with Native American tribes who routinely sent war parties
to attack the American settlers along the Ohio River.
Soldier and surveyor, George Rogers Clark, organized a militia to defend against these raids. Not content to wait for the attackers to come to him, Clark decided that a major offensive was needed. He received approval for the attack from Patrick Henry, the governor of Virginia, and captured British outposts at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, near modern day St. Louis. He also secured the support of French settlers at Fort Sackville in Vincennes.
When British Lt. Governor Henry Hamilton learned of these defeats, he sent a formidable force to retake Fort Sackville. Clark’s men were outnumbered and forced to return the fort to British control. Eager for revenge, Clark would later retake the fort in a daring winter raid on February 25, 1779, forcing Hamilton to accept near unconditional surrender.
This Moment of Indiana History is a production of the Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations in association with the Indiana Historical Society. More information is available on-line at “moment of Indiana history.org."
(Photo Credit: Indiana Historical Society)
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