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The Conquest of the Illinois
George Rogers Clark (1752 – 1818) was a surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the Kentucky (then part of Virginia) militia throughout much of the war. Clark is best known for his celebrated captures of Kaskaskia (1778) and Vincennes (1779) during the Illinois Campaign, which greatly weakened British influence in the Northwest Territory.
The Illinois campaign (1778-1779) was a series of events during the American Revolutionary War in which a small force of Virginia militiamen led by George Rogers Clark seized control of several British posts in the Illinois country, in what is now the Midwestern United States. The campaign is the best-known action of the western theater of the war and the source of Clark's reputation as an early American military hero.
The importance of the Illinois campaign has been the subject of much debate. Because the British ceded the entire Northwest Territory to the United States in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, some historians have credited Clark with nearly doubling the size of the original Thirteen Colonies by seizing control of the Illinois country during the war. For this reason, Clark was nicknamed "Conqueror of the Northwest", and his Illinois campaign—particularly the surprise march to Vincennes—was greatly celebrated and romanticized.
The Memoir was chiefly written in 1789 and 1790, when Clark was still in full possession of his mental and physical powers; and led to the conclusion that the Memoir, far from being "the reminiscences of an old man who strove for the dramatic in his presentation of facts," is to be regarded as a generally trustworthy and highly valuable historical narrative of the events with which it deals.
Originally published in 1920; reformatted for the Kindle; may contain an occasional imperfection; original spellings have been kept in place.
The Illinois campaign (1778-1779) was a series of events during the American Revolutionary War in which a small force of Virginia militiamen led by George Rogers Clark seized control of several British posts in the Illinois country, in what is now the Midwestern United States. The campaign is the best-known action of the western theater of the war and the source of Clark's reputation as an early American military hero.
The importance of the Illinois campaign has been the subject of much debate. Because the British ceded the entire Northwest Territory to the United States in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, some historians have credited Clark with nearly doubling the size of the original Thirteen Colonies by seizing control of the Illinois country during the war. For this reason, Clark was nicknamed "Conqueror of the Northwest", and his Illinois campaign—particularly the surprise march to Vincennes—was greatly celebrated and romanticized.
The Memoir was chiefly written in 1789 and 1790, when Clark was still in full possession of his mental and physical powers; and led to the conclusion that the Memoir, far from being "the reminiscences of an old man who strove for the dramatic in his presentation of facts," is to be regarded as a generally trustworthy and highly valuable historical narrative of the events with which it deals.
Originally published in 1920; reformatted for the Kindle; may contain an occasional imperfection; original spellings have been kept in place.
- GenresHistory
101 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 14, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 4, 2011
You know how in Star Wars, there are all these aliens, and none of them are speaking the same language, and they all look totally different and come from different cultures, but everybody is totally chill about it and takes it in stride and comes up with helpful ways of understanding cultural difference like "Wookies are known to take people's arms outta their sockets when they lose" and in fact everyone seems to understand what everyone else is saying all the time, even though none of them are speaking the same language so HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE, and sometimes people adopt other people's customs as a way of making an impression on those people, but other times they scorn other people's customs as a way of making an impression on those people, but either way people are manipulating each other culturally all the time, and in general everyone always has this heightened awareness of cultural "code" that they kind of take for granted but which they are constantly subtly deploying while they strategize about their epic military quests?
This book has taught me that, in the past, Illinois was a lot like Star Wars.
This book has taught me that, in the past, Illinois was a lot like Star Wars.
March 25, 2016
Unsung hero
Never passing on the early eastern frontier reads and George Rodgers Clarks feats as a military commander. Always enjoyable reading these books.
Never passing on the early eastern frontier reads and George Rodgers Clarks feats as a military commander. Always enjoyable reading these books.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews