Settlers versus Natives: the Siege of Fort Sackville/Battle of Vincennes, February 23-25, 1779

We're calling this Settlers versus Natives for a reason.  Although the Siege of Fort Sackville/Battle of Vincennes was a Revolutionary War battle in the frontier theatre of the war, and both Americans and British fought, the real object of the contest was to cut off British support for Native raids on American settlements.  At least that was true in the minds of the two men most concerned, George Rogers Clark and Henry Hamilton.

Fort Vincennes, now in present-day Vincennes, Indiana, was a French military outpost and trading post for local Native tribes.  Even after the French gave up their rights to what is now Indiana in 1763, a large part of the population was French-Canadian and generally sympathetic to both the French and the Native population.  Following their victory in the Seven Years' War (1755-1763), the British rebuilt and garrisoned the French fort, renaming it Fort Sackville, after a commander in the European theatre of the war.  The outpost was miles from any viable supply routes and soon fell into disrepair.  When the Revolution broke out, the local inhabitants ousted the flimsy British garrison and asked George Rogers Clark to send men for it.  He sent a militia officer, Leonard Helm and a small garrison, but soon the British retook the fort (in 1779) and local residents warned Clark that the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, General Henry Hamilton, was in personal command of the garrison there.

Rogers wanted Hamilton.  Washington wanted Hamilton.  American public opinion at the time wanted Hamilton, at the end of a rope.  Rumors abounded that Hamilton paid his Native auxiliaries scalp bounties, which was the reason that raiding on the frontier kept increasing.  In fact, no evidence has been found that he, or any other Redcoat officer, ever paid for scalps, but facts seldom stand in the way of popular opinion.  Clark decided that he would go to Vincennes and retake the town and Fort Sackville, and keep it this time.  On February 5, 1779, Clark set out for Vincennes with about 170 men, over half of whom were French from the area of what is now Kaskaskia, Illinois.  They had no sympathy for the British and neither did the townspeople of Vincennes, who welcomed Clark's force, provided food, ammunition and other supplies and also intelligence of what was going on at Fort Sackville. 

Clark demanded a formal surrender, which Hamilton scoffed off.  Clark's men then began digging siege works around the Fort.  The British fired their cannon, damaging houses in the village and further angering the residents.  On the way to Vincennes, some of Clark's canoes had overturned, wetting a large store of gunpowder.  Clark thought of taking the Fort by storm, but was about to dismiss the idea because of lack of gunpowder when eager residents of Vincennes came forward with stores of gunpowder they'd hidden from the British.  Clark decided to take the Fort, refusing an offer from a local Piankeshaw leader, Young Tobacco, on the grounds that, during the night attack, he didn't want his men mistakenly firing on Natives loyal to the Americans.  Clark was aware that a large body of Canadians and Native auxiliaries was on the way to enforce Hamilton and they were running out of time.

Clark again sent a demand for surrender and Hamilton sent out Helm, who'd been a prisoner of the British, to inquire for terms.  Clark demanded unconditional surrender or he'd storm the fort.  As these parley's were going on, the force of Canadian militia and Natives showed up.  They skirmished with Clark's men, but were easily beaten off.  Clark's men captured two Canadians and four Natives.  The Canadians were released as a gesture to the citizens of Vincennes, but the four Natives were ordered to kneel in full view of the fort and then tomahawked.  Although Hamilton did not witness the executions, he spread the story that Clark had murdered these prisoners with his own hand.   Likely, Clark ordered the execution (reprehensible enough), but did not actually kill anyone.  As terrible as this was, it was his message to any Native who would support the British. 

Hamilton and Clark met and the garrison of Sackville marched out with the honors of war.  For Hamilton, this should have meant an honorable captivity as a prisoner of war, an officer and a gentleman.  Instead, he was arrested as a war criminal, though never tried.  Clark believed that the capture of Hamilton and Vincennes would help put an early end to war in the western theatre.  He soon came to realize that there were other officers in Fort Detroit who would gladly take Hamilton's place in inciting Native raids on American settlements.  That would not stop until Fort Detroit was out of business and in American hands, which didn't happen until 1813, years after Clark had retired a lonely, broken and almost forgotten old man.