A history of the United States . d to the prov-ince of Quebec, and soon after the beginning of the Revolu-r> A-,4 . tion Colonel Condihons on the west- Hamilton, the ern frontier ^^.-^-^j^ ^^^_ mander at Detroit, un-dertook to organize theIndians of the northwestfor an attack on thesettlers south and east ofthe Ohio River. But hisplans were thwarted bythe foresight of a youngVirginian, George RogersClark, one of the earlysettlers in Kentucky,who, counting on the sup-port of the French in-habitants, was convincedthat with a small force hecould take possession of this territory. Late in the a
A history of the United States . d to the prov-ince of Quebec, and soon after the beginning of the Revolu-r> A-,4 . tion Colonel Condihons on the west- Hamilton, the ern frontier ^^.-^-^j^ ^^^_ mander at Detroit, un-dertook to organize theIndians of the northwestfor an attack on thesettlers south and east ofthe Ohio River. But hisplans were thwarted bythe foresight of a youngVirginian, George RogersClark, one of the earlysettlers in Kentucky,who, counting on the sup-port of the French in-habitants, was convincedthat with a small force hecould take possession of this territory. Late in the autumnof 1777 he made his way back to Virginia along the Wilder-ness Road and laid his plans before Governor Henry. As it was of the utmost importance that the enterprise should be kept secret, the governor did not con-of George sult the legislature, but after conferring withRogers Jefferson, Wythe, and Madison, he authorized Clark to raise a force of 350 men for the enter-prise. Clark immediately proceeded to the neighborhood of. Gkohue Rogers Clark. The French AUiance 153 Pittsburg, where he began making enhstments nominallyfor the defense of Kentucky. By May, 1778, he had suc-ceeded with difficulty in getting together 180 picked riflemen,a flotilla of small boats, and a few pieces of light these he proceeded down the Ohio to its junction withthe Mississippi and disembarked in what is now southernIllinois. Marching his force over the prairie to Kaskaskiahe surprised the garrison and took possession of the townwithout resistance. With the aid of Father Gibault, aCatholic priest, he succeeded in winning over Cahokia andother neighboring villages. As soon as Governor Hamilton heard of these eventshe marched from Detroit with a motley force composed of500 men, regulars, Tories, and Indians, to Vin-cennes on the Wabash and garrisoned that fort; ^^^^^p^^^^but Clark was not to be outdone. Sending cennes,some provisions and a few pieces of artillery ^^^^3,around by the
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