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CHAPTER ELEVEN

CLARK AT KASKASKIA

George Rogers Clark

“The Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes," Daniel 4:32.

To prepare the setting for the next three stories of God’s providence, we need to be reminded that prayer and fasting were part of the early American life. On September 6, 1774, the British fired their cannons on Boston. The next morning, Mr. Duche read the 85th Psalm to Congress and offered a prayer. When the prayer concluded, the men noticed that George Washington had gone to his knees. Congress declared June 1, 1774, to be a day of prayer and fasting.⁶² (⁶²Mark A. Beliles & Stephen K. McDowell, American Providential History, The Providence Foundation, Charlottesville, VA., 1991, pp. 134,135.)

Congress declared May 17, 1775, to be a day of prayer and fasting.⁶³ ⁽⁶³Peter Marshall & David Manuel, The Light and the Glory, Fleming H Revell, Grand Rapids, MI, 1977, p 296.) On June 14, 1775, the British fought the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill. In this battle nearly one-half of the British army, 1,054, were killed or wounded. The American’s lost was 441.⁶⁴ (⁶⁴Peter Marshall & David Manuel, The Light and the Glory, Fleming H Revell, Grand Rapids, MI, 1977, pp. 278-282.)

Congress declared July 20, 1775, to be a day of prayer and fasting.⁶⁵ ⁽⁶⁵Mark A. Beliles & Stephen K. McDowell, American Providential History, The Providence Foundation, Charlottesville, VA, 1991, p. 152.)

To date, Congress has declared about 200 National days of prayer and fasting.⁶⁶ (⁶⁶Mark A. Beliles & Stephen K. McDowell, American Providential History, The Providence Foundation, Charlottesville, VA, 1991, p. 152.)

Literally hundreds of other examples could be sighted to illustrate that this period in America’s history was literally bathed in prayer.

Though George Rogers Clark appears to be a man with a cursing tongue, a man that loved liquor, and a man that often lied and made his fame by bluffing, it is evident that God heard the many prayers of dedicated Christians and providentially used this man in marvelous ways to bring peace to the great country of America. Interestingly this peace was reached with almost no bloodshed.

The next point that should be considered is that the British controlled the vast region north of the Ohio River with forts and ferocious Indians. England had the American colonies surrounded.⁶⁷ (⁶⁷Albert F. Blaisdell & Francis K. Ball, Hero Stories From American History, Ginn and Company, Boston, MA, 1903, p. 3.)

The British had their warships and their great armies on the east. Canada on the north, and as said, forts, the British army, and Indians on the west.

On June 24, 1777, George Rogers Clark realized that the battle must be fought in the area north of the Ohio River. With less than 130 men,⁶⁸ he began a trip of 1,000 miles through the wilderness. (⁶⁸James Alexander Thom, From Sea To Shining Sea, Ballantine Books, New York City, NY, 1984, p. 275.) They traveled down the Ohio River until they reached a spot east of the Mississippi. There they crossed the Ohio and traveled on foot 120 miles to within three miles of the junction place where the Kaskaskia River joins the Mississippi. At this location, (50 miles south of Saint Louis), stood the town of Kaskaskia and the British fort. The American forces were far outnumbered. The evening was hot and the windows of the fort were open. When Clark came near the fort, he heard the sound of music and dancing. All of the men of the village were there. Even the sentinels had left their posts. Clark boldly walked into the great hall, leaned silently against the door post and calmly watched the dancers as they whirled around. Suddenly, an Indian spied the tall stranger and gave a whoop. The dancing stopped. The women screamed and their partners rushed toward the doors. “Go on with your dancing,” Clark confidently stated, “but remember that from now on you are under the American flag and not the flag of Great Britain.” The town and the fort were given into the hands of George Clark without a drop of blood shed on either side.⁶⁹ (⁶⁹Albert F. Blaisdell & Francis K. Ball, Hero Stories From American History, Ginn and Company, Boston, MA, 1903, pp. 6-9.)