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Battle of Vincennes
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Fall of Fort Sackville by Frederick Coffay Yohn
Date 23–25 February 1779 Location Vincennes, Indiana Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
George Rogers Clark Joseph Bowman	Henry Hamilton  Jehu Hay
Strength
170 militia	34 regulars 35 militia
Casualties and losses
None	79 captured including 7 wounded

The Siege of Fort Sackville, also known as the Siege of Fort Vincennes or the Battle of Vincennes, was an American Revolutionary War frontier battle fought in present-day Vincennes, Indiana. An American militia led by Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark defeated the British garrison of Fort Sackville commanded by Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton. In February 1779, after a gruelling march from Kaskaskia, Clark surprised the fort, and after summarily executing four Odawa captives, forced Hamilton's surrender.

Prelude

See also: Illinois Campaign

In January 1778, Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark of the Kentucky militia was authorized by Virginia Governor Patrick Henry to lead an expedition to seize the British outposts of Kaskaskia and Cahokia on the Mississippi River. Despite having recruited only 175 men, Clark captured Kaskaskia on July 4 and Cahokia two days later. The decrepit stockade of Fort Sackville, located in Vincennes on the Wabash River 180 miles east of Kaskakia, was occupied by the end of the month by a small detachment led by Captain Leonard Helm. In response, British Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton set out from Fort Detroit on October 7 with 40 Detroit Volunteers led by Captain Guillaume LaMothe, 85 militia led by Major Jehu Hay, a small Royal Artillery detachment, and 60 Odawa and Ojibwe warriors. He was later joined by a 34-man detachment from the 8th Regiment of Foot, a number of British Indian Department officers, and roughly 200 Miami, Potawatomi, and Shawnee. Hamilton surprised Fort Sackville's small garrison and retook Vincennes on December 17. He decided to winter at Vincennes with the British regulars, while most of the militia and Indigenous warriors returned home.

It was several weeks before Clark learned that Vincennes had been retaken. His informant was Francis Vigo, an Italian fur trader who had briefly been held prisoner by the British. Vigo provided Clarke with information about the strength of Fort Sackville's garrison and Hamilton's plan to retake Kaskaskia and Cahokia in the spring.

Clark decided that he needed to launch a surprise winter attack on Vincennes. Clark explained his reasons in a letter to Governor Henry:

I know the case is desperate; but, sir, we must either quit the country or attack Mr. Hamilton. No time is to be lost. Were I sure of a re-inforcement, I should not attempt it. Who knows what fortune will do for us? Great things have been affected by a few men well conducted. Perhaps we may be fortunate. We have this consolation that our cause is just, and that our country will be grateful and not condemn our conduct, in case we fall through; if so, this country as well as Kentucky, I believe, is lost.

Expedition

Clark's march to Vincennes has been depicted in many paintings such as this illustration by Frederick Coffay Yohn.

On February 5, 1779, Clark set out for Vincennes with Captain Joseph Bowman and 170 men, nearly half of them French volunteers from Kaskaskia. Later, in a letter to his friend and mentor George Mason, Clark described his feeling for the journey as one of "forlorn hope," as his men were faced with a long trek over land that was "in many parts flowing with water." While Clark and Bowman marched across country, 40 men under Captain John Rogers departed Kaskaskia in an armed riverboat and traveled upriver along the Ohio and Wabash rivers before taking station several miles below Vincennes to prevent the British from escaping by water.

Clark led his men east from Kaskaskia to Vincennes, a journey of about 180 miles (290 km). Clark later recalled that the weather was "wet, but, fortunately, not cold for the season" but found "a great part of the plains under water several inches deep." This made the men's march "difficult and very fatiguing." Provisions were carried on pack horses supplemented by wild game shot by hunting parties. They reached the Little Wabash River on 13 February and found it had burst its banks, flooding an area about 5 miles (8.0 km) wide. They built a large canoe to shuttle men and supplies across. The next few days were especially trying. Provisions were running low, and the men were continually forced to wade through water. They reached the Embarras River on February 17. They were now only 9 miles (14 km) from Fort Sackville but the river was too high to ford. They followed the Embarrass downstream to the Wabash and once again built canoes in order to cross the swollen river. Spirits were low. They had been without food for the last two days, and Clark struggled to keep men from deserting. Clark later wrote that: "I conducted myself in such a manner that caused the whole to believe that I had no doubt of success, which kept their spirits up." Even so, a February 20 entry in Captain Bowman's journal describes the men in camp as "very quiet but hungry; some almost in despair; many of the creole volunteers talking of returning." By February 22, Bowman reports that they still have "No provisions yet. Lord help us!" and that "those that were weak and famished from so much fatigue went in the canoes" as they headed towards toward Vincennes.

On February 20, a hunting party from Vincennes was captured. They told Clark that the people of Vincennes were sympathetic to the Americans. The next day, Clark and his men crossed the Wabash, leaving their pack horses behind. They proceeded towards Vincennes, sometimes in water up to their shoulders. The last few days were the hardest. While crossing a flooded plain about 4 miles (6.4 km) wide, they used the canoes to shuttle the weary from high point to high point. Shortly before reaching Vincennes, another hunter was captured who told Clark that the British were completely unaware of the American presence. Clark sent the man ahead with a letter to the inhabitants of Vincennes, warning them that everyone should stay in their homes unless they wanted to be considered an enemy. The message was read in the public square. Apparently no one went to the fort to warn Hamilton.

Siege

Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton surrenders to Colonel George Rogers Clark, February 25, 1779, painting by Hugh Charles McBarron Jr.

Clarke entered Vincennes on the evening of February 23. While most of Clark's men secured the village, small detachments stealthily approached the fort, took cover behind nearby structures and opened fire.

The attack on Fort Sackville came as a surprise to Hamilton even through a militia patrol had a day earlier captured two Virginians and had seen campfires 12 miles south of the fort. He initially believed that the gunfire was caused by a "drunken frolic of the inhabitants" but after a sergeant was slightly wounded realized the fort was under attack and ordered his men to return fire.

British artillery fire was able to dislodge Clark's men from their position near the village's church but was otherwise ineffective. Clark's men responded by firing through the fort's open portholes, wounding some of the gunners. Shooting continued through the night although had slacked off in the hours before dawn. A scouting party that Hamilton had sent out two days earlier was able to cross back into fort at this time, although two were captured.

Young Tobacco, a Piankeshaw chief, reportedly offered to assist in the attack. Clark rejected the offer, likely due to his well-known hatred of Indigenous people. He did, however, accepted help from the villagers in the form of dry gunpowder.

About mid-morning on February 24, a demand for unconditional surrender was sent to Hamilton under a flag of truce. Hamilton was warned that should the fort's supplies or papers destroyed, he should "expect no mercy, for by Heavens you shall be treated as a Murtherer.” Hamilton refused to surrender.

Although the British regulars enthusiastically supported their commander, the local French militia who were inside the fort were unwilling to continue fighting since many of their relations were openly assisting Clark. With seven of his regulars wounded, no hope for reinforcement, and a militia who he later called "treacherous cowards," A few hours later, Hamilton sent out a letter offering terms; asking for a three-day truce and a meeting with Clark. Clark repeated his demand for unconditional surrender but did offer to meet Hamilton by the village church. Meanwhile, an unsuspecting Odawa scouting party that had been set out from Vincennes weeks earlier were ambushed as they returned to the village. Several were killed or wounded and six or seven were taken prisoner. Clark then had four of the prisoners summarily executed within site of the fort's main gate.

Clark would later justify the killings by claiming that the Indigenous warriors had returned to Vincennes with fresh scalps. In his journal Hamilton reported that Clark or one of his officers used a tomahawk to personally murder at least one of the four, and that Clark arrived for their meeting afterwards "all bloody and sweating... his hands and face still reeking from the human sacrifice in which he had acted as chief priest." While neither Clark or Bowman gave any details, Jacob Schieffelin, a Lieutenant in the British Indian Department witnessed the murders and stated that Clark had wielded the tomahawk.

Clark once again demanded unconditional surrender and swore that should he have to storm the fort, "not a single man should be spared." After Hamilton indicated his willingness to fight it out, a compromise was reached whereas the British would "deliver themselves up Prisoners of War and March out with their Arms and Acountriments."

The following morning Hamilton ordered the British flag lowered, marched his men out of the fort and formally surrendered to Clark. A total of 79 men were taken prisoner. Clark's men raised the American flag over the fort and renamed it Fort Patrick Henry.

In the aftermath of the capture a six-pound cannon, which was tampered by the British ahead of time, was fired in celebratory fashion by a few of Clark's soldiers. The blast accidentally ignited nearby cannon cartridges resulting in a devastating explosion that mortally wounded Joseph Bowman and injured officer Edward Worthington, four privates, and a British soldier. Bowman succumbed to his wounds a few months later.

Aftermath

1929 American postage stamp designed by Frederick Coffay Yohn commemorating the 150th anniversary of the siege.

Clark sent Hamilton, seven of his officers, and 18 other prisoners to Williamsburg. Canadiens who had accompanied Hamilton were paroled after taking an oath of neutrality.

A detachment was sent upriver on the Wabash, where a supply convoy was captured, along with British reinforcements and Philippe Dejean, Hamilton's judge in Detroit.

Hamilton, Hay and LaMothe and several others were taken to Williamsburg, Virginia. Hamilton was falsely accused of paying for scalps, and was treated as a criminal rather than a prisoner of war. The Virginia Council, headed by Thomas Jefferson, ordered Hamilton and LaMothe placed in irons and confined to the Williamsburg jail. These harsh measures were relaxed several weeks later due to the intervention of George Washington. Lamothe was paroled in October 1779. Hamilton accepted parole to New York in October 1780 and was officially exchanged in the spring of 1781.

Clark had high hopes after his recapture of Vincennes. "This stroke", he wrote "will nearly put an end to the Indian War. Had I men enough to take advantage of ye resent confusion of the Indian nations, I would silence of the whole in two months."

In the years that followed, Clark made several attempts to organize a campaign against Fort Detroit but each time the expedition was called off because of insufficient men and supplies. Meanwhile, settlers began to pour into Kentucky after hearing news of Clark's victory. In 1779, Virginia opened a land office to register claims in Kentucky, and settlements such as Louisville were established.

The winter expedition was Clark's most significant military achievement during the war and became the source of his reputation as an early American military hero. He was credited with capturing the fort without a single soldier killed or wounded. When news of his victory reached General George Washington, Clark's success was celebrated and was used to encourage the alliance with France. Washington recognized his achievement had been gained without support from the regular army in men or funds. Virginia capitalized on Clark's success by laying claim to the whole of the Old Northwest, calling it Illinois County in December 1778. In early 1781, Virginia resolved to hand the region over to the central government, paving the way for the final ratification of the Articles of Confederation. These lands became the Northwest Territory of the United States.

See also

• American Revolutionary War § Stalemate in the North. Places "Siege of Fort Vincennes" in overall sequence and strategic context.