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CHAPTER TWELVE CLARK IN VINCENNES “Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you,” Deuteronomy 28:10-11. Near the end of January, 1778, Clark learned that the British commander, Hamilton (the scalps buyer), had sent most of his men back to Detroit and was now wintering at Vincennes, (Indiana). Clark selected 170 riflemen and on February 7, he sat out on the 180 mile trip northeast to Vincennes. Vincennes is located on the eastern side of the Wabash River. After a week of marching, the ice on the rivers broke and the thaw flooded everything. The branches of the Little Wabash now made one great river five miles wide. Even in the shallow places, the water was three feet deep. The men waded in the icy water all day and at night they slept on little muddy hills that rose above the flood. By February 17, the men were out of food. They made dugouts in the driving rain to help carry some of them. They found no dry land for miles around. They waded for three miles with the water up to their chins. The men in one of the dugouts captured an Indian canoe paddled by some squaws. In the canoe was buffalo meat and kettles. The meat provided only a mouthful of food for the 170 men, but it was enough to give them the needed strength to continue. They finally reached the high ground near Vincennes and soon ran into six Indians who had been robbing and murdering the Kentucky settlers. These Indians came marching into the village of Vincennes with white men’s scalps hanging from their belts to sell to Hamilton. Clark’s men captured these Indians and dragged them to the front of the British fort. There, in the sight of all who wished to look, Clark’s men executed the Indians with their own tomahawks. Hamilton, thinking that Clark’s forces were much greater and much more brutal than they really were, gave up the fort.70 (70Albert F. Blaisdell & Francis K. Ball, Hero Stories From American History, Ginn and Company, Boston, MA, 1903, pp. 11-17.) Clark thus captured the fort at Vincennes without losing a single man.71 (71James Alexander Thom, From Sea To Shining Sea, Ballantine Books, New York City, NY, 1984, p. 351.) Do you see the providence of God here? When Clark told the story of the capture of Vincennes, he asked, “Do you know what saved us? It was providence. When a man is alone, having to act as God for a large number of men, then providence steps in and takes over. If somehow, we had won the battle without providence, I might be here sitting now like Caesar, believing that I was God.”72 (72James Alexander Thom, From Sea To Shining Sea, Ballantine Books, New York City, NY, 1984, pp. 363, 364.)
Study Guide Chapter Twelve 1. How far did Clark have to march to get from Kaskaskia to Vincennes? 2. How wide was the Little Wabash River when Clark reached it? 3. What made wading in the river almost unbearable? 4. How did God provide food for the starving men? 5. When Clark and his men reached dry land near Vincennes, who did they first capture? 6. How did Clark know these Indians had killed white settlers? 7. Who was buying white scalps from the Indians? 8. What did Clark’s men do to the Indians in sight of all who wanted to watch from the fort? 9. How many men did Clark lose in the capturing of the fort in Vincennes? 10. To whom did Clark give the credit for his being able to capture Fort Vincennes?
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America's Providential Heritage Home Page  God's Providence Through The Bible God's Intervention In Medieval Times
Clark And The Wabash Indian Counsel
God's Intervention In The Life Of The Author
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