George Rogers Clark And The Destruction Of Fort Sackville

When you here the name George Rogers Clark you probably wouldn’t know who it is right off the top of your head. Well he is remembered as the heroic Revolutionary War commander and that he also led a force of frontiersman through the numbing waters of the Illinois countryside so he could capture a British-held named Fort Sackville during February of 1779 (National Park Service). The capture of Fort Sackville was by far his most dramatic accomplishment. He continued exertions throughout the war (National Park Service). During the war he put a lot of effort into building forts along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Which ended in a British-led attack on the Illinois countryside. He also led to huge expeditions that later destroyed the major Shawnee towns in Ohio. After he accomplished these things the rest of his life went into a big downfall because of the tremendous degrade of finances and health (National Park Service).

His parents were John and Ann Rogers Clark (Indiana Historical Bureau). Both parents were landholders. They lived on a 400 acre farm by the Rivanna River which was two miles from Charlottesville. Charlottesville was only two and a half miles from where Thomas Jefferson was born in Shadwell. In the year of 1757 the Clarks decided to sell their land to move to a small plantation that was left behind to them by an uncle that goes by the name of John Clark (Indiana Historical Bureau). He was born on November 19, 1752. During the Revolutionary War he was named the “Conqueror of the Old Northwest” after he had captured territory that increased America’s frontier. After the Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783 ending the Revolutionary War he became broke and very deep in debt due to paying a lot of money to support his troops