Hoosier students will recall the Indiana History ciriculum we had in fourth grade. To some the names, dates and places were boring. But it sparked in me a life long love of my state and its history.While my classmates idolized sports stars or celebraties the men and women who made Indiana and our nation what it is became ny childhood heros. To be truthful my home state is an interesting place filled with facinating people and places, both past and present. Let's discover some together.
George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark was born on November 19, 1752 in Albemarle County, Virginia. Clark had little formal education. He lived with his grandfather so that he could receive a common education at Donald Robertson's school with James Madison and John Taylor of Carolina. He was also tutored at home, as was usual for Virginian planters' children of the period and his grandfather trained him to be a surveyor. Clark's military career began in 1774, when he served as a Captain in the Virginia Militia. He was preparing to lead an expedition of 90 men down the Ohio River when hostilities broke out between the Shawnee and settlers on the Kanawha frontier that eventually culminated in Lord Dunmore's War. In 1777, the Revolutionary War had intensified in Kentucky. Clark spent several months defending settlements against the Indian raiders as a leader in the militia, while developing his plan for a long-distance strike against the British. Clark used his own resources and borrowed from his friends to continue his campaign after his initial appropriation from the Virginia legislature had been depleted. He re-enlisted some of his troops and recruited additional men to join him. He then planned a surprise attack on Fork Sackville at Vincennes leaving Kaskaskia on February 6, 1779 With about 170 men he began an arduous overland trek, encountering melting snow, ice, and cold rain along the journey. They arrived at Vincennes on February 23 and launched a surprise attack on Fort Sackville. Hamilton surrendered the garrison on February 25 and was captured in the process. The winter expedition was Clark's most significant military achievement and became the basis of his reputation as an early American military hero.
As compensation for his wartime service, Virginia gave Clark a gift of 150,000 acres (610 km2) of land that became known as Clark's Grant in present-day southern Indiana. Clark's Grant, the largest tract of land on the north side of the Ohio River included a large portion of Clark County, Indiana, and portions of Floyd and Scott Counties, as well as the present-day site of Clarksville, Indiana, the first American town laid out in the Northwest Territory. Clark spent much of the remainder of his life dealing with financial difficulties. Clark had financed the majority of his military campaigns with borrowed funds. When creditors began pressuring him to repay his debts, Clark was unable to obtain reimbursement from Virginia or the United States Congress. Due to haphazard record keeping on the frontier during the war, Virginia refused payment, claiming that Clark's receipts for his purchases were "fraudulent". 1803 Clark built a cabin overlooking the Falls of the Ohio, where he lived until his health failed in 1809.
Clark's knowledge of the region helped him to become an expert on the West's natural history. Over the years he welcomed travelers, including those interested in natural history, to his home overlooking the Ohio River. Clark supplied details on the area's plant and animal life to John Pope and John James Audubon, and hosted his brother, William, and Meriweather Lewis, prior to their expedition to the Pacific Northwest. Clark died at Locust Grove on February 13, 1818; he was buried at Locust Grove Cemetery two days later. Clark's remains were exhumed along with those of his other family members on October 29, 1869, and buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville. The physical log will be checked periodically and online logs without a signature will be deleted. Not trying to be mean but that is how the game is played.