This Virginian Was the Original American Bad-Ass
Remembering George Rogers Clark
In 1777, in the midst of War with the British King, the Virginia legislature raised an army under George Rogers Clark, a militia captain and noted frontiersman. The mission was simple: protect the American settlers in far western Virginia (modern-day Kentucky) from the pillaging Shawnee, acting at the behest of the British general Henry Hamilton, who was called “the Hair-buyer” due to the sums he paid for American scalps, including women and children.
The ensuing campaign was one of the most impactful in American history. Clark’s small army tramped through the wilderness of western Virginia, then floated up the Ohio River till they reached the Wabash River in the winter of 1778. Deep in enemy country, holding their rifles above the freezing water to keep the powder dry, Clark’s men waded up the river. Reaching Hamilton’s fort at Vincennes, they attacked without warning, driving off the British and capturing the fort. Soon they controlled the entire Northwest Territory, beyond the Ohio River.
Having established his authority, Clark promptly made peace with the Shawnee, who recognized his martial skills by naming him “Long Knife.” That peace preserved the lives of hundreds of…
Unsung heros.