In Gen. George Rogers Clark’s force for the conquest of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes were many men with Irish names, and when we take into account the Irish then so very numerous in Pennsylvania and Virginia, it would not be surprising if one half of it was composed of Irishmen and Irish-Americans. In this force were 236 privates, besides officers. Some of the names of the latter are as follows: Major Thomas Quirk (who was originally a sergeant in Captain McHarrod’s company and rendered some military service on the frontier before and after the Illinois campaign). Clark’s biographer says, “Quirk was a brave and a fine-looking Irishman.” He died in Louisville, Kentucky, in the fall of 1803. He was allotted 4,312 acres of land for his valuable army services.
Capt. John Montgomery, who is stated in one place to be “an Irishman full of fight,” was one of Clark’s most valued officers, and had been one of the celebrated party of “Long Hunters.”
Col. John Campbell, who was one of the commissioners for the allotment of Clark’s land grant of 149,000 acres, to the men engaged in his Illinois campaigns, was an Irishman by birth, and a man accredited with much force of character. He was a member of the Kentucky convention of 1792, and a member of the legislature. He died without issue. After Campbell came James F. Moore, Alex. Breckenridge, Richard Taylor, and Robert Breckenridge, as land commissioners. James F. Moore had been a soldier under Clark, and also, subsequently, a member of the Kentucky house of representatives.
Here are names that are suggestive of subsequent presidents of the United States. Richard Taylor was a native of Virginia, of Irish extraction. He removed in 1785 to Kentucky; was a soldier of the Revolution, holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel at its close. He was the father of the hero of the Rio Grande, Gen. Zachary Taylor, twelfth president of the United States. Robert Breckenridge, also of Irish extraction, was a member of the Kentucky legislature, and speaker of the house of representatives several times. He was the ancestor of John C. Breckenridge, vice-president with James Buchanan, and subsequently a presidential candidate himself.
Col. Archibald Lochrey was county lieutenant of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and started with his command from Carnahan’s block-house August, 1781, to join Gen. Clark’s Illinois forces, with a company of volunteer riflemen raised by Capt. Robert Orr; two companies of rangers under Capt. Thomas Stockley, and a company of horse under Capt. William Campbell, for the reduction of Detroit, then in the possession of the British. Stockley was met and defeated by Indians in the British service. In fact, the whole of Col. Lochrey’s expedition was defeated, forty-one men being killed, and the rest taken prisoners. When certain facts with regard to the British forces became known at Kaskaskia, it was determined to raise a small American force and make a raid against Fort St. Joseph, a British post situated on the St. Joseph river.
The company consisted of only seventeen men and was commanded by Thomas Brady, a patriotic Irish-American citizen of Cahokia, who had emigrated thither from Pennsylvania, and who was described as being “both restless and daring.” He marched across the country in October and succeeded in eluding the Indian guards and capturing the place, taking a few British prisoners, together with a large quantity of goods. Being over-confident, on his return he was attacked by a force of Pottawattomies and British traders, hastily organized for the purpose, and while lying encamped on the Calumet river, near Chicago, was defeated. Two of his men were killed, two wounded, and ten taken prisoners. Brady, with two others, suceeded in making their escape, and returned to Cahokia. But he did not rest until he organized another expedition to rescue his friends and avenge his defeat. He was joined by a party of Spaniards from the west side of the Mississippi, then Spanish territory, and retook the place without striking a blow, and the Spanish flag for a short time replaced the British. The event was a small one, but Spain had the hardihood to demand the country on account of it.
This Thomas Brady, and one William Arundel (an Irishman from Canada, and an Indian trader in Cahokia in 1783) and Capt. Richard McCarty, already mentioned, and a small party of hunters that joined General Clark’s expedition in 1778, were the only white men in Illinois territory besides the French Canadians, and a few old soldiers, at the time of Clark’s conquest. They resided at Cahokia. Brady was afterwards sheriff of St. Clair county.
Among other names of officers that are likely to have been Irish or Irish-American in Clark’s army, are those of Col. Benjamin Logan, Capt. John Baily, Capt. Robert Orr, Capt. William Campbell, Col. William Davis, Lieut. Martin Carney, Thomas Dalton, and Major Denny.
General Clark wrote a letter to the governor of Virginia (Patrick Henry) from Kentucky on October 12, 1782, in which he said, “I had the pleasure of receiving your letter by Major Walls and Mr. Kearney, the 30th of July past, at which time the gentlemen arrived with stores all safe, after surmounting uncommon difficulties. They arrived in time to save troops from deserting.” This shows that the Irish were pretty well in evidence both in Virginia and the Northwest at that period.
Subjoined is a list of the privates taken from one page only of the printed roster of Clark’s soldiers of the Illinois expedition, that were entitled to receive, each, 108 acres of land, as printed in English’s life of General Clark: Moses Lunsford, Abraham Lusado, Richard Luttrell, John Lyons, Joseph Lyne, Francis McDermott, David McDonald, John McGar, Alex. McIntyre, Geo. McMannus, Sr.; John McMannus, Jr., Samuel McMullen, James McNutt, Florence Mahoney, Jonas Manifee, Patrick Marr, Charles Martin, Nathaniel Mersham, Abraham Miller, John Montgomery, James Monroe, John Moore, Thomas Moore, John Murphy, and Edward Murray.