Little Egypt Heritage Articles Stories of Southern Illinois Bill Oliver 17 November 2002 Vol 1 Issue: #12 ISSN: pending Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of Little Egypt, This week I had the great pleasure of meeting and listening to Dr. Mike [G Michael] Pratt. Dr. Pratt is an archeologist and supervised the survey that established the exact whereabouts of the "Battle of Fallen Timbers" in the 1890s. Though I knew of Dr. Pratt for many years, I learned that it has been twenty years that I became aware of his work. Our youngest daughter [yes, grandchildren, Blake, Em, Kate, Jen, Betsy and Natalie ... your Aunt Anne] was sent from her soft and comfortable life out into the "cruel" world to get a job, or at least do something worthwhile, rather than laze around an entire summer. She chose to become part of a survey team digging up a place known to us as "Indian Hills", but known to history as Fort Miami, on the banks of the Maumee River. With the centennial of the Expedition of the Louisiana Purchase fast coming, I would like to digress some and write several prelude articles to this event over the next weeks. The Northwest Territory was important to the development of our country. Britain didn't like giving up that territory. Men became famous in securing it and they include such famous names as Croghan and Clark in the old Northwest Territory. Dr Mike's topic just happen to be the Battle for Mackinaw/Mackinac Island in July 1814, during what is known as the War of 1812. Britain saw a way to possibly regain the Northwest Territory in 1812. But the story really begins back with Fort Pitt. The Virginian, Colonel George Croghan, was the Indian Agent at Fort Pitt in 1774. He had invited Chief Cornstalk to come for talks at Fort Pitt. Due to tensions among the Euros, Cornstalk was asked to come with just a small party. Though this make him lose face with his people he consented to take his brother and sister, Silverheels and Non-hel-e-ma. When they reached the fort a group of angry frontiersmen attacked the group and Silverheels was wounded. They would probably have been murdered had not Colonel Croghan rushed out and demanded a halt. Though there were apologies made, this dashed any hope of peace with the Indians. An attack on a principal chief was unforgivable. George Rogers Clark, in 1778, at age 26, led soldiers and many families down the Ohio River to what is known as the Falls of the Ohio. On an island at the Falls he set up camp. This was the beginning of the settlement later named Louisville, but at the time was named Corn Island. Here Clark trained his troops. From here he launched successful campaigns, capturing the posts of Kaskaskia and Cahokia on the Mississippi River. He also captured Vincennes on the Walbash River. Hamilton marched from Detroit and recaptured it from the Americans. Hamilton was caught by winter from attempting to recapture Kaskaskia and Cahokia, so he settled in at Vincennes. In a most daring campaign, Clark took less than two hundred men and crossed a hundred and seventy miles across flooded, frozen plains to recapture Vincennes. It took him three weeks to reach the fort. His approach went unnoticed by the British and thus fooled the British into thinking he had far more men than he did. Thus, the British surrendered and George Rogers Clark(e) ensured America's control of the Northwest Territory, which today includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. About thirty five years later, Major George Rogers Croghan, a nephew of Clark's, exhibited the same genius in the defense of Fort Stephenson by disobeying a direct order, losing his command and regaining it. Later in the War, led the expedition to retake the island fort on Mackinaw. There was most interesting performance by Captain Thorne, whose family went back into English history to the eleven hundreds. Captain Thorn was the pilot for the Croghan-Sinclair expedition. At the time he was suffering from a dislocated hip, was taken aboard and he gave directing from a chair. As fog settled over the area, Thorne, strapped himself to a chair, hoisted by pulleys to the masthead and from that position piloted the fleet safely on its way to Mackinaw. Wado, Bill -- Notes: 1. . Link to Archived Articles http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/state/ Little Egypt Heritage articles will be posted on Sunday evening on the SOIL-L@rootsweb.com ILJackso-L@rootsweb.com ILJohnso-L@rootsweb.com ILMassac-L@rootsweb.com