The Conquest of the Illinois

On the night of July 4th 1778, George Rogers Clark and his men sprung a surprise attack on the village of Kashaskia, "and within a very short time we were in complete possession of the place, with every avenue guarded to prevent any one from escaping and giving the alarm to the other villages." Thus began Clark's conquest of Illinois. For the next year and a half, Clark and his troops swept through the state taking hold of the old French posts, that...
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On the night of July 4th 1778, George Rogers Clark and his men sprung a surprise attack on the village of Kashaskia, "and within a very short time we were in complete possession of the place, with every avenue guarded to prevent any one from escaping and giving the alarm to the other villages."

Thus began Clark's conquest of Illinois.

For the next year and a half, Clark and his troops swept through the state taking hold of the old French posts, that were now occupied by British garrisons, including Cahokia and Vincennes.

Fighting against the experienced Anglo-Irish soldier Governor Henry Hamilton, the young Clark was pushed to his limits and explains in detail how he was able to outmanoeuvre his opponent.

The Conquest of the Illinois by George Rogers Clark is a fascinating first person account of one of the most important campaigns of the American Revolution. The book explains the full planning of Clark's expedition and its aftermath. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the American Revolution and those who fought in it.

George Rogers Clark was a surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. Because the British ceded the entire Northwest Territory to the United States in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, Clark has often been hailed as the "Conqueror of the Old Northwest". This edition of his memoir was edited by Milo Milton Quaife and published in 1920.