General Clark possessed rare military gifts, as he demonstrated on more than one important occasion. The Governor of the Canadian settlements in the Illinois country was using his utmost endeavor to incite the Indians to devastate the American frontier. This being established beyond question, the Governor of Virginia placed two hundred and fifty men under Clark, with permission to march against the settlements. He descended the Ohio, landed and hid his boats, and then started overland for his destination, his soldiers carrying the small amount of provisions they had on their backs. These were soon exhausted, and, for two days, they ate nothing but roots and a few berries, but all the time pushed vigorously forward.
As silently as phantoms, and as totally unexpected, it may be said, they appeared before Kaskaskia in the dead of night. The place was captured before anything like resistance could be thought of. This was a noteworthy exploit, for Kaskaskia but a short time before had resisted a much larger force.
General Clark understood the value of promptness and celerity in military movements, and without an hour's unnecessary delay he sent out detachments against three other towns, which in every instance were captured, the obnoxious Governor Rocheblave himself being one of the prisoners. He was sent to Virginia, there being found among the papers on his person instructions from Quebec to do his utmost to rouse the Indians against the settlers, and even to go to the extent of offering bounties for the scalps of Americans.
The Illinois settlers transferred their allegiance to Virginia, which owned the territory by right of charter and conquest, and, in the autumn of 1778, erected it into the County of Illinois—thus sealing an act of brilliant generalship on the part of Clark, which has few parallels in the history of the West.
The danger, instead of being over, only deepened, for Hamilton, the Governor of Detroit, was a resolute official, and, burning under the smart inflicted by the audacious American officer, began the organization of an overwhelming force of British and Indians, with which to move up the Ohio, to Fort Pitt, capturing all the settlements on the way, purposing also to lay siege to Fort Kaskaskia itself.
This was alarming tidings to Clark, who saw no probability of being able to hold the country, though he resolved to make its re-conquest dear to the invaders. The forces which Governor Hamilton was gathering far outnumbered his and were equally experienced, and their march up the country promised to be practically irresistible. Besides this, the Governor gathered hundreds of Indians, who were thirsting for the opportunity for massacre and plunder. Thus, never in the history of the frontier did a more portentous cloud gather in its sky.
In this hour of gloom and almost despair, General Clark learned that Governor Hamilton, who had reached Fort St. Vincent—now known as Vincennes—had divided his force, by sending most of the Indians against the adjoining settlements.
This opportunity was similar to those the great Napoleon was so quick to perceive, nearly a half century later, and which did so much to establish his marvelous military genius in the eyes of the world.
It was in the dead of winter, being February, 1779, and yet the runner had scarcely come into Kaskaskia with the important tidings, when General Clark, with one hundred and fifty picked men, was threading his way through the wilderness in the direction of Vincennes. Fortunately the weather was unusually mild, but when within nine miles of the enemy, they reached the drowned lands of the Wabash, where they were compelled to wade to their armpits for a long distance, and to use so much caution in advancing, that it was five days before the entire body got safely across.
On the 23rd of February, the American force appeared before the fort, and General Clark demanded its surrender. This was promptly refused, and Clark made his preparations to take it. As the garrison had not expected them, he began a siege, carefully investing it as best he could, and confident that it could not hold out long.