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Hayden's History Hour Ep. 7: How The American Revolution Won The Frontier
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On this edition of Hayden's History Hour, Federalist Staff Editor Hayden Daniel shares the history of the American Revolution west of the Appalachian Mountains, including the great leaders and brutal tactics involved in the war, and how victory in the...
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Greetings and welcome back to another edition of Hayden's History Hour. I'm your host, Hayden Daniel, editor of the Federalist. As always, you can email the show@radiothefederalist.com and follow us on xderalistfdrlst. Make sure to subscribe wherever you download your podcast and of course to the premium version of our website as well. Today we're going to be talking about the American Revolution west of the Appalachians, which is probably an aspect of that conflict. You really haven't heard that much before. It doesn't get a lot of attention in Hollywood movies or books and even in most history works. It doesn't really get a whole lot of attention, but it is extremely important when it comes to the expansion of our country and in the outbreak of the Revolution itself. So we're going to talk about it today. Like many aspects of the American Revolution, it begins with the French and Indian War between 1754 and 1763. The colonists play a major role in helping to defeat France and its Native American allies, and they believe that they are owed compensation for their contribution towards Britain's overwhelming victory in that war, especially on in North America, Britain runs away with the war and gets basically everything it wants. Before the war, France controlled all of Canada, it controlled the Midwest, and it controlled the Mississippi Valley all the way down to New Orleans, While the British are, of course, on the eastern seaboard. After the war, after the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France is basically shut out of North America entirely. It loses its land east of the Mississippi river to Britain, it loses all of Canada to Britain, and it loses the land west of the Mississippi to Spain. As a result of this new, vast land acquisition by the British, American colonists from the thirteen colonies begin moving into lands west of the Appalachians that had been previously controlled by the French or their Native American allies. The land that they're moving into was mostly claimed by private land speculation companies. So conglomerates of very wealthy planters from Virginia or traders from Connecticut or merchants from Philadelphia were then buying huge plots of land out in what would become Ohio or Kentucky and speculating that these areas will be built up for settlement. And the elites became heavily invested in these areas being future areas of settlement. But the British have a different idea. And this happens because of Pontiac's Rebellion, which you may not have heard of before, But Pontiac, a Native American chief in what is today Michigan, launches a rebellion against the British in 1763. And it is a relatively bloody and expensive rebellion to resolve for the British. And as a result, the British get very wary about future conflicts with Indians in their new frontier in these areas that they just conquered from the French. So they decide to issue the proclamation of 1763, which tried to placate the Indians by forbidding colonial settlement west of the Appalachians and creating this sort of reservation solely for the. For the Indians, this proclamation was almost entirely unenforceable because, of course, Britain did not have the men or the resources to patrol that line and make sure the colonists weren't slipping through and going and colonizing these areas, which they did in relatively large numbers. Meanwhile, all it really did was end up angering the colonists quite a bit, because they see this as a total betrayal of their efforts to help Britain win the French and Indian War. But several further treaties between Britain and the Indian tribes, such as the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768, alters the proclamation line that gives more territory to Pennsylvania, including most of what is today western Pennsylvania, and it opens up parts of Kentucky and Tennessee to colonial settlement. And colonists begin pouring through relatively quickly. But they're still not entirely forgiving of Britain or the initial proclamation line. But Britain makes another mistake in 1774. Its new subjects in Canada, who were previously French, are not particularly pleased about being under the British crown and are getting a little restless by the mid-1770s. And the British decide to try to placate them by passing the Quebec Act. Now, this restores the old French civil law code in Quebec and allows Catholics to hold office in Quebec. These aren't of much interest to the thirteen colonies, but they succeed quite well in winning over the French to the British cause. But it also extends Quebec's borders south to the Ohio River. So almost all of today's Midwest becomes part of Quebec, part of what used to be French Canada, and is what now is British Canada. This once again makes the colonists irate because they once again feel betrayed that the land that they helped conquer in the French and Indian War is being handed over to their former enemies in the French and Indian War, the French Canadians. So they are extremely aggrieved by this move in 1774, especially since by this time quite a few colonists had moved into these areas that had been conquered from France. Estimates are a bit hazy, but Perhaps up to 45,000 settlers had already moved into Kentucky by 1780, while several thousand had moved into Tennessee. The white population of Ohio and other future Midwest states was likely pretty low, but they were there, especially in Ohio. Settlers had already begun to sort of stake their claims and build settlements in Ohio, but the largest European presence was in strategic forts like Fort Pitt and in Detroit, which Detroit will become very important in a little bit. Tennessee settlers established the watauga association in 1772, the first step towards self government in the future states. That's very important. In 1774, Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore called the Watauga Association a dangerous example of Americans forming a government distinct and independent of His Majesty's authority. So you have a little bit of a precursor to American independence there in 1772 in Tennessee, these settlers establishing their own sort of free and independent association that's outside of crown authority. In fact, President Roosevelt, Teddy. Teddy Roosevelt later wrote that the Watauga settlers were the first men of American birth to establish a free and independent community on the continent. Despite this, the settlers probably still considered themselves British subjects. They probably believed that they would be either absorbed into an existing colony or create a new colony for themselves, which the area did end up being annexed by North Carolina in 1776. While the Indians are not particularly thrilled by the colonists moving into these areas, despite the Proclamation of 1763, they still kind of cling on beyond all hope to these treaties that they've signed with the British. And that's one of the main reasons why most of the Indians side with the British during the American Revolution. The British, to them at least, are the lesser of two eagles. The British at least give lip service to the idea of limiting westward expansion and the and maintaining the sovereignty of Indian tribes as independent peoples. While the colonists are just openly they're very open about wanting to expand west and take more Indian land. So it's a pretty clear choice for the Native American tribes about which side they're going to support in the Revolution.
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the time we get to The Revolution in 1775, the war in the west of the Appalachians is extremely small, especially when compared to the scale of fighting east of the Appalachians. You know the classic sort of engagements that we think of Battle of Bunker Hill, the Saratoga Campaign, Siege of Yorktown, etc. Those are pretty big battles, but it's extremely rare for forces to exceed a thousand men overall, not even just on one side. Overall, these are very, very small battles and most of the war is a series of raids and quick sieges of very strategic forts and massacres of civilians, whether that's Indian tribes, people or colonial settlers. It is a very dirty war. I think most people would describe it. But raids by the Indians against white settlers, mostly in Kentucky, begin as almost as soon as the war starts. They don't waste any time in hitting back at the settlers who have encroached on their land. But the first engagement that could be described, accurately described as a battle west of the Appalachians doesn't take place until July 20, 1776. So over two weeks after independence is declared. It's called the Battle of Island Flats, and it takes place near Kingsport, Tennessee, which is in the far eastern part of the state, if you don't know. Between the Americans and the Cherokee, only a little over 300 men participate altogether in this battle, and there are fewer than 20 people dead. Overall, it is an American victory To distract from the impending Saratoga campaign in upstate New York. In 1777, the British in Fort Detroit start supplying and encouraging Indian raids in Ohio into Kentucky, Pennsylvania and the future West Virginia. It doesn't really work because the Continental army does not have any men or supplies to help the settlers at all. So it does not achieve their stated goals of distracting from the Saratoga campaign. But it does succeed in very much angering the settlers in Kentucky and those other western territories. And with these raids against Kentucky, we come on to one of the most important, probably the most important character of the American Revolution west of the Appalachians. That is George Rogers Clark. He is the brother, the older brother of William Clark of Lewis and Clarkburn. He's born in Albemarle County, Virginia. In 1752, he became a surveyor in what is today West Virginia and Kentucky. Now, while he's in Kentucky, the revolution begins. And much of Kentucky had been purchased by a North Carolina land speculator named Richard Henderson. Henderson intended to form a new colony called Transylvania out of this land, which is now eastern Kentucky. But the treaties that Henderson had signed with the Indians to purchase the land were extralegal, and many settlers had no desire to be part of this prospective colony. So Clark, along with a fellow settler, John Gabriel Jones, travels to Williamsburg, Virginia, to petition governor Patrick Henry. He of give me liberty and give me death fame to create Kentucky County, Virginia, who sort of preempt the creation of a whole new colony. And Patrick Henry agrees. And this new county basically encompasses all of what is today modern Kentucky. It basically fixes the modern boundaries of Kentucky. In 1777, Clark begins to plan an expedition north of the Ohio river from Kentucky to see strategic British outposts in Illinois country, which Illinois country at this time encompasses basically all of Illinois and most of what we today consider Indiana. He wants to seize these forts to push the British back and alienate Britain's Indian allies and sort of push the front line away from the borders of Kentucky as much as possible to prevent further raids into Kentucky territory. Patrick Henry commissions Clark, the lieutenant colonel in the newly raised Illinois regiment of the Virginia State forces and he sets out in July 1778 with a whopping 200 men. And they crossed the Ohio and captured Kaskaskia in Southern Illinois on July 4th. On Independence Day, Clark captured several other villages and forts in southern Illinois and Indiana over the next several months with relatively little bloodshed and intending to march on Fort Detroit once he had the men and supplies. Detroit really is sort of the grand prize of this campaign. It is the, it's the biggest and most strategically valuable fort in the Midwest at this point. The weakening of British influence in southern Indiana, southern Illinois gets the attention of General Henry Hamilton, the British lieutenant governor of Quebec and the commander of Fort Detroit. Hamilton marched south and recaptures Vincennes, Indiana for the British cause. In December 1778. Clark decided to take on Hamilton to destroy Hamilton's force, can't really call it an army and march towards Vincennes From Kaskaskia in February 1779 with about 170 men, interestingly, many of whom were French volunteers from the Illinois country who were sympathetic to the Patriot cause. So even, even amongst the French speaking settlers of Quebec there are divided loyalties, even though most do stay loyal to the British. Clark and his men made the arduous 180 mile trek through the wilderness during the winter. This is February. In 17 days, struggling against heavy snowfall and swollen, sometimes half frozen rivers, the approach of Clark and his men went completely undetected by the British. Just before reaching the village of Vincennes, Clark encountered a hunter from the town and gave him a letter warning the townsfolk that his army was close by and that the people should stay in their homes during the siege of the port. This fort is called Fort Sackville and it's what the battle is sometimes referred to. It's also known as the Battle of Vincennes. None of the inhabitants of Vincennes warn Hamilton and the British of Clark's approach, even though they're right next to the fort. So might give you a bit of a clue to what? To their loyalties. The siege of Fort Sackville lasted two days. Hamilton only had 70, 79 men in the fort and little hope of relief out there in the middle of fort at the time, middle of nowhere. Under the terms of the surrender, most of the British garrison was allowed to return to Detroit. But Hamilton, his officers and several other men went to Williamsburg as prisoners. No Americans died during this siege, but Captain Joseph Bowman, under Clark's command died some months later due to powder burns he suffered during a botched cannon salute. To celebrate the fort's surrender. So he's the only American to die as a result of this battle. General Henry Hamilton, the British commander, was initially treated as a criminal when he reached Williamsburg, Virginia, because of reports that he had paid Indians for settler scouts. The Virginia government, headed at this point by Thomas Jefferson, ordered Hamilton to be imprisoned and treated as a criminal, not as a prisoner of war. Hamilton was held in prison until George Washington personally intervened and had him be treated as a prisoner of war rather than a common criminal. Hamilton was returned to the British during a prisoner exchange in 1781. Now, the battle of Vincennes was a massive success for the Americans and gave them de facto control of the Northwest Territory south of Detroit. For a relatively short time, Virginia formally claimed what is today Illinois and Indiana as Illinois County. So in an alternate timeline, Virginia is absolutely massive. It includes Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana. The state would hand the territory over to the Articles Confederation government in 1784, and then they would create the Northwest Territory out of that and Ohio and Michigan. Clark becomes an overnight hero, especially to frontiersmen. And settlers began pouring into Kentucky after hearing of this victory. George Washington even also personally praises Clark's victory as a great strategic success for the Patriot cause. But the war is not over. In response, the British unleashed a massive wave of raids in 1780. In May, British Captain Henry Byrd invaded Kentucky with hundreds of British troops and Indian raiders. They were able to capture several settlements and hundreds of settlers, but they ultimately failed to destroy American power in the area. Clark was able to retaliate and defeat the Shawnee Indians at the Battle of Piqua in August, but the damage was already done. Quite a bit of Kentucky had been ravaged by the British at this point. At almost the same time, the British struck in St. Louis, which might be quite surprising. You might not even know that St. Louis was a settlement in 1780, but it was. It was a French outpost that had been turned over to the Spanish after the Treaty of Paris in 1763. While the French alliance with the patriots is well known, Spain entered the war against the British in 1779 in order to try and gain territory from the British. But their hold on the territory around St. Louis was extremely loose. So they only had a handful of men to defend St. Louis, which is a relatively strategic area on the Mississippi. A large force of British Indian allies and a couple dozen British fur traders, actually numbering about a thousand men, attacked the settlements of St. Louis and Cahokia, which is on the other side of the Mississippi and is defended by the Americans. The Americans and the Spanish together have maybe 200 men against a thousand British and Indian allies. The Spanish defense hinged on a stone tower called Fort San Carlos. It's just a single round little stone tower. It was intended to be a complex of forts, but the Spanish didn't have enough time to finish it before they were attacked. The Indians were reluctant to attack, prepared defenses and became disorganized. George Rogers Clark arrived with reinforcements to relieve Cahokia, while the Spanish were able to hold out in Fort San Carlos and some trenches around the fort until the Indians basically became disinterested in attacking. About 100 people, almost entirely civilians, die in the battle. Almost no Indians die and almost no military personnel on the Spanish American side die. Relatively bloodless. But it is interesting that a battle happened that far west and we don't really think about it at all. A French attempt to capture Detroit was destroyed in November by British allied Miami Indians. Most of 1781 was spent by Clark trying to organize an expedition to capture Detroit. He petitioned Governor Thomas Jefferson for a 2000 man force, but a lack of supplies and money prevented this. That's sort of the very familiar song of both the war west of the Appalachians and the war east of the Appalachians. Money and men are always lacking for the Patriots. It seems. He was eventually able to scrabble together around 400 men. But a 100 man detachment of that force was ambushed by Indians, almost completely destroyed, which basically aborted any attempt to capture Detroit, at least in 1781. While the war started to die down on the eastern seaboard after the 1781 surrender at Yorktown. And we kind of consider that the last hoorah of the war in our popular imagination, the war in the west escalated in 1782 and is known as the year of blood on the frontier. In March 1782, 160 Pennsylvania militiamen entered the Ohio country as retaliation for raids into western Pennsylvania. They detained around 100, mostly women and children, Lenape Indians believing they had aided the Indian raiders who had ravaged western Pennsylvania. Now, this particular group of Indians were converts to the Moravian Church, which is a particular denomination of Christianity that was popular in Pennsylvania. And it was a pacifist denomination, meaning they didn't believe in violence of any sort. And they had almost certainly not been the people who had helped the Indian raiders. But this band of Pennsylvania militia decided to execute these Indians as spies, even though several other colonists who were with them objected killing them. But they were ultimately overruled. This group of Lenape Indians spent the night before what would be known as the Moravian Massacre. Praying and singing hymns before they were butchered by the Pennsylvania militiamen. Another large expedition from Pennsylvania, led by William Crawford, met disaster. Most of Crawford's 500 men escaped Pennsylvania after they were ambushed by Indians. But almost 100 were either killed in fighting or executed by Indians as revenge for the Moravian Massacre. Crawford himself was captured by the Indians, brutally tortured and then burned at the stake as revenge for that massacre. So you have war atrocities on both sides, and no one side is particularly clean on that regard when it comes to war on the frontier. And that's one of the more defining aspects of this war. In the back country in Kentucky and Ohio, it's particularly brutal because it is mostly carried out against civilians. It's mostly raids or sieges that deliver death and deprivation upon civilians. It's just like in the Battle of St. Louis. Almost everyone who died in that battle was a civilian. Very few military deaths. The Americans suffered another major defeat in August 1782 at the Battle of Blue Lips in Kentucky. Daniel Boone is one of the leaders of that American force. George Rogers Clark is not leading that force, but he does get a lot of blame for this defeat because he was supposed to lead that force and he was technically in charge of almost all of the Patriot forces in Kentucky at this point. So he was sort of his, his reputation was a little tarnished by this defeat, but overall he's still remembered relatively well. But in response, Clark leads a large raid into Ohio that causes quite a bit of damage to the British allied Indians in the area. And one of the final battles of the American Revolution in general took place in September 1782. At the siege of Fort Henry. 20American militiamen held out against a siege by around 300 British troops and Indian allies. They successfully holed out and only one American was wounded in the entire battle. The war formally ends in September 1783. British relinquished control over the entire Ohio country and what is today the Midwest, where Detroit becomes the Detroit we all know. And America's de facto territory expands all the way from the eastern seaboard, now the Mississippi. Britain's Indian allies were severely weakened by American raids and by the war in general. While Britain of course loses all this land that of course we all know now is extremely valuable. Valuable. But at the time its value was only very potential. So the British, while they certainly regretted losing it, it was not the massive blow that losing the actual 13 colonies was to Britain and its economic situation. Meanwhile, the Americans gained vast tracts of new land for its settlers. So it vindicates those settlers. From 1763 who were so angered by the Proclamation of 1763. And of course, this whole saga, the whole part of the war in the Western theater begins America's manifest destiny. It begins our push towards the Pacific to take over the continent as our birthright. And it's the beginning of the pattern of American expansion that makes the country that we are today. So while this is often a very, very overlooked portion of the American Revolution, it actually has quite a bit of impact on the future of the nation going forward and how we deal with Indians and how we deal with Western expansion and whether we're going to expand west at all. If we hadn't won or Britain had kept that land, we could have been penned in on the Eastern seaboard and not been the continent spanning nation that we are today. So our efforts in the Western theater are vital to our nation's growth and our nation's survival. The resources that we gained from the Midwest and from the southeast of the Mississippi river are vital to the nation's growth and expansion and the development into the great nation that we have today. So take some time to remember the American Revolution west of the Appalachians. Thank you so much for joining me on this very special episode of Hayden's History Hour. I'm your host Hayden Daniel, editor of the Federalist. We will soon be back with more and in fact, I want to make a little request from any listeners who've made it this far and ask that you send us your questions. What would what burning historical questions would you like me to answer here on air? And we will compile them all and make a very special episode of me answering your questions. So if you're interested in that, either respond to my Twitter post about this latest episode or you can email the show again@radiothererals.com I'm looking very much forward to what yalls questions are and what kind of things y' all want me to discuss on the show. Until then, thanks and be lovers of freedom and anxious for.
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