1779 The War in the West

The War at Sea

George Rogers Clark statue in Louisville

John Paul Jones

I. George Rogers Clark A. Began exploring west

in what is now Kentucky in 1772 (VA territory)

B. Became militia leader for small settlements formed in the region

C. Founded settlement later to be Louisville, KY (5/78)1. Clarksville, In Clark as painted by Matthew Harris

Jouett in 1825

II. Clark’s War in the West

A. British had allied with native tribes and were raiding small American settlements 1. British General Henry “Hair Buyer” Hamilton

was paying Indians to bring back colonial scalps

B. Clark devised a plan to raise an army and capture the British forts on the frontier 1. Captured Fort Kaskaskia (Illinois) in July of

1778 without firing a shot

III. Battle of Vincennes

A. February 23–25, 1779

B. Clark and 170 militiamen/French surround Fort Sackville in Vincennes, IN

C. British numbered approx. 100 including local French/natives

Battle of Vincennes continued

D. Clark and his men continued marching around the fort waving extra flags

E. Riflemen rapidly shot at the fort 1. Fooled British into thinking

that they had 1000 men2. Natives fled

F. Clark offered surrender, but British refused terms 1. Clark then tomahawked two

captured natives in front of the fort

G. British General Hamilton would surrender on the 25th

The Fall of Fort Sackville

by Fredrick C. Yorn

IV. Conqueror of the Northwest

A. George Rogers Clark’s goal is to take Fort Detroit, the western British headquarters1. He could never get enough men to attack

B. His raids on British forts in the Ohio Country, his occupation of the Illinois territory, and his capture of General Hamilton would all greatly weaken the British army in the west 1. “Conqueror of the Northwest”

V. The Battle at Sea

A. British had the strongest navy in the world and hundreds of ships at their disposal1. Americans had 8

ships in 1776

2. Resorted to raiding individual ships

VI. John Paul Jones

A. John Paul Jones proved himself as the strongest of the new American sailors 1. Scottish captain who immigrated to

Virginia in 1773 to escape the law

2. Captured Mellish in Lake Superior during Nov. 1776

3. Defeated HMS Drake off coast of Ireland on April 24th, 1778

4. First American naval victory in British Waters

VII. The Poor Richard A. Jones was friends with Ben Franklin, who

lobbied for the French to provide him with a new vessel1. French were impressed, and in 1779, gave Jones a

small fleet to command

2. He named his new ship the Bonhomme Richard, after Ben Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac

VIII. Battle of Flamborough Head -“I have not yet begun to fight!”

A. On September 23, 1779, Jones and his fleet engaged two British warships off the English coast

B. HMS Serapis vs. USS Bonomme Richard1. The Serapis inflicted heavy damage to Jones’s

ship 2. The Bonhomme Richard was on fire and sinking

and her flag had been shot down3. When asked if he was surrendering, Jones

replied, “I have not yet begun to fight!” 4. The most famous American Naval victory of the

war

"Action Between the Serapis and Bonhomme Richard" - Richard Paton

“Father of the US Navy”

The marble and bronze sarcophagus of John Paul Jones at the USNA in Annapolis, MD is guarded by Midshipmen 24-hours a day, 365 days a year

IX. Spain Enters the War A. Spanish enter war as

ally of France1. Bernado de Galvéz

i. Governor of Spanish Louisiana

ii. Closed Mississppi River to British

iii. Conquered British Forts in the Mississippi valley and Florida