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213-687: In July 1778, Clark and his men crossed the Ohio River from Kentucky and took control of Kaskaskia , Vincennes , and several other villages in British territory. The occupation was accomplished without firing a shot because many of the Canadien and Native American inhabitants in the region were unwilling to resist the Patriots. To counter Clark's advance, Henry Hamilton , the British lieutenant governor at Fort Detroit , reoccupied Vincennes with

426-873: A lieutenant colonel in the Virginia militia and authorized him to raise seven militia companies , each to contain fifty men. This unit, later known as the Illinois Regiment , was a part of the Virginia State Forces and thus, not a part of the Continental Army , the national army of the United States, during the Revolutionary War. The men were enlisted to serve for three months, after they reached Kentucky. To maintain secrecy, Clark did not tell any of his recruits that

639-541: A 500% increase in mercury discharges between 2007 and 2013. For several decades beginning in the 1950s, the Ohio River was polluted with hundreds of thousands of pounds of PFOA , a fluoride-based chemical used in making teflon , among other things, by the DuPont chemical company from an outflow pipe at its Parkersburg, West Virginia , facility. The Ohio was listed among America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2023 on

852-622: A Capital mistake when they took Henry out of the Senate to place him in the Field". In September, Virginia's Committee of Safety placed Henry in charge of all Virginia's forces. Despite the high title, Henry was placed under tight civilian control, and to an extent the willingness of moderates to go along with the appointment reflected a view that in that position, the volatile Henry would be contained. Henry moved to organize his regiment and had no difficulty recruiting men. As commander, he organized

1065-776: A French architect and surveyor whose survey was the first mapping of the Ohio River, led an expedition of French troops from Fort Niagara down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers as far as the mouth of the Great Miami River near Big Bone Lick and possibly the Falls of the Ohio (present-day Louisville ). Chaussegros de Lery mapped the Great Lakes in 1725, and engineered the Niagara fortifications in 1726. I am indebted for

1278-604: A French-born soldier and official, was hired by the British to be the local commandant, of Fort Gage, in Kaskaskia. Rocheblave reported to Hamilton at Fort Detroit , and frequently complained that he lacked the money, resources, and troops needed to administer and protect the French villages and forts, from internal and external enemies, within the region. When the American Revolutionary War began, in 1775,

1491-520: A Letter I can give You no Idea of the Music of his Voice, or the highwrought, yet Natural elegance of his Stile, or Manner". The secretary of the Congress, Charles Thomson , wrote that when Henry rose, he had expected little from a man dressed as plainly as a rural minister. "But as he proceeded, [he] evinced such [an] unusual force of argument, and such novel and impassioned eloquence as soon electrified

1704-596: A ban on bills of attainder . Henry got it removed by telling the delegates that some high offender might be reached by no other means. The convention approved the Declaration of Rights on June 12. Virginia's form of government, to be placed in its constitution, became a national concern; Jefferson, in Philadelphia though he would have preferred to be in Williamsburg, sent a plan, and John Adams sent Henry

1917-553: A boatload of American hunters led by John Duff who had recently been at Kaskaskia; they provided Clark with intelligence about the village and agreed to join the expedition as guides. That evening, Clark and his troops landed their vessels on the north side of the Ohio River, near the ruins of Fort Massac , a French fort abandoned after the French and Indian War (near present Metropolis, Illinois ). The men marched 50 miles (80 km) through forest before emerging into prairie . When

2130-487: A brief time as a child. Scotchtown, with 16 rooms, was one of the largest mansions in Virginia. Henry was a lifelong slaveholder from the time of his marriage at age 18. Henry professed that slavery was wrong and expressed hopes for its abolition, but he had no plan for doing so nor for the multiracial society that would result, for he did not believe schemes to settle freed slaves in Africa were realistic, "to re-export them

2343-515: A delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention . He actively opposed the ratification of the United States Constitution , both fearing a powerful central government and because there was as yet no Bill of Rights . He returned to the practice of law in his final years, declining several offices under the federal government. A slaveholder throughout his adult life, he hoped to see the institution end but had no plan beyond ending

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2556-585: A demand of unconditional surrender within 30 minutes, or else he would storm the fort. Helm returned before the time had expired and presented Hamilton's proposal for a three-day truce. This too was rejected, but Clark agreed to meet Hamilton at the village church. Before the meeting at the church, the most controversial incident in Clark's career occurred. During these negotiations, a British-allied war party of between 15 and 20 Odawa and Lenape warriors, led by two Canadiens, neared Clark's encampments after leaving

2769-401: A few houses in the city but doing little damage to the besiegers. Clark's men silenced the cannon by firing through the fort's portholes, killing and wounding some of the gunners. Meanwhile, Clark received local help: villagers gave him powder and ammunition they had hidden from the British, and Young Tobacco , a Piankeshaw chief, offered to have his 100 men assist in the attack. Clark declined

2982-629: A group than what was actually passed, reached Britain by mid-August, the first American reaction to the passage of the Stamp Act. In North America, they galvanized opposition to the Stamp Act and made Virginia the leader in opposition to Parliament's action. According to Thad Tate in Henry's American National Biography article, "Not only in Virginia but across the mainland British colonies, Henry quickly established his reputation as an uncompromising opponent of imperial policy." The Morgans note "In Virginia

3195-475: A guide announced that he was lost, Clark suspected treachery and threatened to kill the man unless he found the way. The guide regained his bearings, and the trek resumed. They arrived outside Kaskaskia on the night of July 4. Thinking they would have arrived sooner, the men had carried only four days worth of rations; they had gone without food for the last two days of the six-day march. "In our hungry condition," wrote Joseph Bowman, "we unanimously determined to take

3408-724: A key role in Henry's life; his father and namesake uncle were both devout and were both major influences in his life. Nevertheless, he was uncomfortable with the role of the Anglican Church as the established religion in Virginia, and he fought for religious liberty throughout his career. Henry wrote to a group of Baptists who had sent a letter of congratulations following Henry's 1776 election as governor, "My earnest wish is, that Christian charity, forbearance and love may unite all different persuasions as brethren." He criticized his state of Virginia, feeling that slavery and lack of religious toleration had retarded its development. He told

3621-527: A large apartment for her there. She died in 1775, after which Henry avoided all objects that reminded him of her and sold Scotchtown in 1777. Hanover County elected Henry as a delegate to the Second Virginia Convention, which convened at St. John's Episcopal Church in the town of Richmond on March 20, 1775. Richmond was selected as better protected from royal authority. The convention debated whether Virginia should adopt language from

3834-402: A lifelong Anglican communicant, ministers such as Samuel Davies taught him that it is not enough to save one's own soul, but one should help to save society. He also learned that oratory should reach the heart, not just persuade based on reason. His oratorical technique would follow that of these preachers, seeking to reach the people by speaking to them in their own language. Religion played

4047-745: A major, and gave him £150 to recruit four companies in the Holston River valley and then meet Clark in Kentucky. For a variety of reasons, Clark was unable to raise all 350 men authorized for the Illinois Regiment. His recruiters had to compete with recruiters from the Continental Army and from other militia units. Some believed that Kentucky was too sparsely inhabited to warrant the diversion of manpower, and recommended that it should be evacuated rather than defended. Settlers in

4260-418: A navy . In November 1775, Dunmore, who though he had abandoned Williamsburg still held Norfolk, issued a proclamation offering freedom to any black slave or indentured servant willing and able to serve in his forces, which already included several hundred former slaves. Henry wrote to all county lieutenants , stating that the proclamation "is fatal to the publick Safety" and urging an "unremitting Attention to

4473-515: A pamphlet containing his own views, to which Henry replied, "your sentiments are precisely the same I have long since taken up, and they come recommended by you". But it was Mason's plan for the government of Virginia which dominated, with much power given to the Virginia House of Delegates , the lower house of the legislature. The House of Delegates and the Senate of Virginia together formed

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4686-485: A petition by the planters of the Colony of Jamaica . This document contained complaints about British actions but admitted the king could veto colonial legislation, and it urged reconciliation. Henry offered amendments to raise a militia independent of royal authority in terms that recognized that conflict with Britain was inevitable, sparking the opposition of moderates. On March 23, he defended his amendments, concluding with

4899-592: A point south of the Ohio River and north of the Falls: "Place where one found the ivory of Elephant in 1729" ( French : endroit ou on à trouvé des os d'Elephant en 1729 ). De Lery's men found teeth weighing ten pounds (4.5 kg) with a diameter of five to seven inches (130 to 180 mm), tusks 11 feet (3.4 m) long and 6–7 inches (150–180 mm) in diameter, and thigh bones 5 feet (1.5 m) long. The bones were collected and shipped to Paris, where they were identified as mastodon remains; they are on display at

5112-458: A practice common but illegal. Henry is said to have made a brilliant speech in defense of the rights of voters, but the text does not survive. Henry lost the case but met influential members on the Committee of Privileges and Elections, such as Richard Henry Lee , Peyton Randolph and George Wythe . In 1765, William Johnson, the brother of Thomas Johnson (who had been one of Henry's clients in

5325-467: A small force. In February 1779, Clark returned to Vincennes in a surprise winter expedition and retook the town , capturing Hamilton in the process. Virginia capitalized on Clark's success by establishing the region as Illinois County, Virginia . The importance of the Illinois campaign has been the subject of much debate. Because the British ceded the entire Northwest Territory to the United States in

5538-678: A southern route to his home in Augusta County, Virginia , in May 1745. John Howard was extradited to France to stand trial. His ship was intercepted by the English and, as a free man, he reported his adventures after landing in London; however, his account has been lost. Salling's detailed account of Virginia's adjacent lands was used in Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson's 1751 map. In 1749,

5751-469: A successful general, and this resulted in the so-called Conway Cabal . Henry supported Washington when Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia, one of those unenthusiastic about Washington, sent the governor an unsigned letter, discussing machinations against the general. Henry immediately sent Washington the letter, and though it is uncertain if Henry recognized Rush's handwriting, Washington did, tipping him off to

5964-409: A surplus of slave labor in Virginia, easily brought the transatlantic importation of new enslaved Africans to an end. The planters supported the effort to limit slave imports for their own economic reasons and for fear of slave rebellions, but they did not seek abolition of slaves already in Virginia, although moving towards abolition said to be a reason for passing the act. With a surplus of slaves and

6177-481: A surprise winter attack on Vincennes before Hamilton could recapture the Illinois country in the spring. He wrote to Governor Henry: I know the case is desperate; but, sir, we must either quit the country or attack Mr. Hamilton. No time is to be lost. Were I sure of a reinforcement, I should not attempt it. Who knows what fortune will do for us? Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted. Perhaps we may be fortunate. We have this consolation, that our cause

6390-471: A villager known to be a friend, who informed Clark that they were still unsuspected. Clark sent the man ahead with a letter to the inhabitants of Vincennes, warning them that he was just about to arrive with an army, and that everyone should stay in their homes unless they wanted to be considered an enemy. The message was read in the public square. No one went to the fort to warn Hamilton. Clark and his men marched into Vincennes at sunset on February 23, entering

6603-532: A week; one major decision was the election of delegates to a Continental Congress in Philadelphia . Henry was chosen as one of seven delegates, tying for second place with Washington, burgess for Fairfax County, both receiving three votes less than Randolph. As Washington's estate, Mount Vernon , lay on the way from Scotchtown to Philadelphia, he invited Henry to stop there and to ride to Philadelphia with him. Henry and Pendleton, another Virginia delegate to

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6816-847: A whole is ranked as the most polluted river in the United States, based on 2009 and 2010 data. The more industrial and regional West Virginia/Pennsylvania tributary, the Monongahela River , ranked 17th for water pollution , behind 16 other American rivers. The Ohio again ranked as the most polluted in 2013, and has been the most polluted river since at least 2001, according to the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO). The Commission found that 92% of toxic discharges were nitrates , including farm runoff and waste water from industrial processes such as steel production. The Commission also noted mercury pollution as an ongoing concern, citing

7029-501: A year later opened a store with his older brother William . The store was not successful. His sisters were pioneer and writer Annie Henry Christian and Elizabeth Henry Campbell Russell , a Methodist lay leader. The religious revival known as the Great Awakening reached Virginia when Henry was a child. His father was staunchly Anglican, but his mother often took him to hear Presbyterian preachers. Although Henry remained

7242-595: Is 1,310 miles (2,110 km) long and carries the largest volume of water of any tributary of the Mississippi. The Indians and early European explorers and settlers of the region often considered the Allegheny to be part of the Ohio. The forks (the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at what is now Pittsburgh) were considered a strategic military location by colonial French and British, and later independent American military authorities. The Ohio River

7455-553: Is credited with being the first European to travel and explore western Pennsylvania and the upper Ohio Valley. Viele made contact with Native American nations as far west as the Wabash River , in present-day Indiana. He and his company left Albany , traveling southbound and crossing portions of present-day New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. They apparently followed the west branch of the Susquehanna River into

7668-552: Is formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at what is now Point State Park in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . From there, it flows northwest through Allegheny and Beaver counties, before making an abrupt turn to the south-southwest at the West Virginia –Ohio–Pennsylvania triple-state line (near East Liverpool, Ohio ; Chester, West Virginia ; and Ohioville, Pennsylvania ). From there, it forms

7881-552: Is just, and that our country will be grateful and not condemn our conduct in case we fall through. If we fail, the Illinois as well as Kentucky, I believe, is lost. On February 6, 1779, Clark set out for Vincennes with probably about 170 volunteers, nearly half of them French militia from Kaskaskia. Captain Bowman was second-in-command on the expedition, which Clark characterized as a " forlorn hope ." While Clark and his men marched across country, 40 men left in an armed row- galley , which

8094-548: Is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! As he concluded, Henry plunged an ivory paper cutter towards his chest in imitation of

8307-437: Is not known and whose journal was discovered in 1921 recorded at the time of Henry's speech that "one of the members stood up and said that he had read that in former times Tarquin and Julius had their Brutus , Charles had his Cromwell , and he did not doubt but some good American would stand up, in favour of his country". As Henry had seemingly called for the killing of King George III , there were cries of "Treason!" in

8520-431: Is now impracticable, and sorry I am for it." He wrote in 1773, "I am the master of slaves of my own purchase. I am drawn along by the general inconvenience of living here without them. I will not, I cannot justify it." But the number of slaves he owned increased over time and as a result of his second marriage in 1777, so that at his death in 1799, he owned 67 slaves. In 1778, Henry and other planters, believing there to be

8733-407: Is the most beautiful river on earth. Its current gentle, waters clear, and bosom smooth and unbroken by rocks and rapids, a single instance only excepted." After the French and Indian War , Britain's trans-Appalachian Indian Reserve was divided by the river into colonial lands to the south and Native American lands to the north. In the late 18th century, the river became the southern boundary of

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8946-617: The 1763 Treaty of Paris . The 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix with several tribes opened Kentucky to colonial settlement and established the Ohio River as a southern boundary for American Indian territory. In 1774 the Quebec Act restored the land east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River to Quebec , in effect making the Ohio the southern boundary of Canada . This appeased French Canadians in Quebec but angered

9159-570: The 1783 Treaty of Paris , some historians have credited Clark with nearly doubling the size of the original Thirteen Colonies by seizing control of the Illinois Country during the war. For this reason, Clark was nicknamed the "Conqueror of the Northwest", and his Illinois campaign—particularly the surprise march to Vincennes—was greatly celebrated and romanticized. The Illinois Country was a vaguely defined region which included much of

9372-467: The American Civil War . One antebellum slave trader reported that they kept slaves chained two-by-two while navigating the Ohio, only when they reached the Mississippi could the slaves be unchained for a time, because "there was slavery on both sides of the boat." The expression "sold down the river" originated as a lament of Upper South slaves, especially from Kentucky, who were shipped via

9585-648: The Batts and Fallam expedition of 1671, and the Needham and Arthur expedition of 1673–74. In early autumn 1692, loyal English-speaking Dutchman Arnout Viele and a party of eleven companions from Esopus —Europeans, Shawnee , and a few loyal Delaware guides—were sent by the governor of New York to trade with the Shawnee and bring them into the English sphere of influence. Viele understood several Native American languages, which made him valuable as an interpreter. He

9798-642: The Falls of the Ohio in Kentucky. Traveling with Clark's men were about 20 families who were going to Kentucky to settle. On the journey down the Ohio River , Clark and his men picked up supplies at Forts Pitt and Henry that were provided by General Edward Hand , the Continental Army Western Department commander. They reached Fort Randolph ( Point Pleasant, West Virginia ) soon after it had been attacked by an Indian war party. The fort commander asked for Clark's help in pursuing

10011-639: The French National Natural History Museum . Charles III Le Moyne , second Baron de Longueuil (later the governor of Montreal and interim governor of New France ), commanded Fort Niagara from 1726 to 1733. He led an expedition of 442 men, including Native Americans, from Montreal to war against the Chickasaw who occupied territory on the lower part of the Mississippi River in the area claimed as La Louisiane . According to Gaston Pierre de Lévis , Duke de Mirepoix,

10224-781: The Kanawha River , they entered the Ohio River 444 miles (715 km) above the falls. The Virginia pioneers traced the northern boundary of Kentucky for five hundred miles (800 km), reaching the Mississippi River on June 7. They descended just below the mouth of the Arkansas River , where they were ambushed by a large company of Native Americans, Blacks and Frenchmen on July 2, 1742; one or two of Howard's men were killed. The rest were brought to New Orleans and imprisoned as spies. After two years in prison, Salling escaped on October 25, 1744, and returned on

10437-645: The Lenape and Iroquois , considered the Ohio and Allegheny rivers as the same, as is suggested by a New York State road sign on Interstate 86 that refers to the Allegheny River also as Ohi:yo' . Similarly, the Geographic Names Information System lists O-hee-yo and O-hi-o as variant names for the Allegheny. An earlier Miami-Illinois language name was also applied to the Ohio River, Mosopeleacipi ("river of

10650-550: The Little Wabash River on February 13, and found it flooded, making a stream about 5 miles (8 km) wide. They built a large canoe to shuttle men and supplies across. The next few days were especially trying: provisions were running low, and the men were almost continually wading through water. They reached the Embarras River on February 17. They were now only 9 miles (14 km) from Fort Sackville, but

10863-690: The Midwestern Great Lakes states from the Upper South states, which were historically border states in the Civil War. The Ohio River is a left (east) and the largest tributary by volume of the Mississippi River in the United States . At the confluence , the Ohio is considerably bigger than the Mississippi, measured by long-term mean discharge. The Ohio River at Cairo is 281,500 cu ft/s (7,960 m /s); and

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11076-550: The Mississippi River at the city of Cairo, Illinois . Where the Ohio joins the Mississippi is the lowest elevation in the state of Illinois, at 315 feet (96 m). The Mississippi River flows to the Gulf of Mexico on the Atlantic Ocean . Among rivers wholly or mostly in the United States, the Ohio is the second largest by discharge volume and the tenth longest and has the eighth largest drainage basin. It serves to separate

11289-546: The Mosopelea " tribe). Shortened in the Shawnee language to pelewa thiipi , spelewathiipi or peleewa thiipiiki , the name evolved through variant forms such as "Polesipi", "Peleson", "Pele Sipi" and "Pere Sipi", and eventually stabilized to the variant spellings "Pelisipi", "Pelisippi" and "Pellissippi". Originally applied just to the Ohio River, the "Pelisipi" name later was variously applied back and forth between

11502-529: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's Ohio River Forecast Center. The water depth predictions are relative to each local flood plain based upon predicted rainfall in the Ohio River basin in five reports as follows: The water levels for the Ohio River from Smithland Lock and Dam to Cairo, Illinois, are predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center. The largest tributaries of

11715-673: The Northwest Territory . The river is sometimes considered as the western extension of the Mason–Dixon line that divided Pennsylvania from Maryland , and thus part of the border between free and slave territory, and between the Northern and Southern United States or Upper South . Where the river was narrow, it was crossed by thousands of slaves escaping to the North for freedom; many were helped by free blacks and whites of

11928-703: The Ohio Company was established in Virginia Colony to settle and trade in the Ohio River region. Exploration of the territory and trade with the Indians in the region near the Forks brought white colonists from both Pennsylvania and Virginia across the mountains, and both colonies claimed the territory. The movement across the Allegheny Mountains of Anglo-American settlers and the claims of

12141-451: The Ohio River marked the border between the Illinois Country and Kentucky, an area recently settled by American colonists. The British had originally sought to keep American Indians out of the war, but in 1777 Hamilton received instructions to recruit and arm Indian war parties to raid white settlements on the Kentucky frontier, opening a western front in the war. "From 1777 on," wrote historian Bernard Sheehan, "the line of western settlements

12354-411: The Parson's Cause against the Anglican clergy. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses , where he quickly became notable for his inflammatory rhetoric against the Stamp Act of 1765 . In 1774, Henry served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress where he signed the Petition to the King , which he helped to draft, and the Continental Association . He gained further popularity among

12567-411: The Potomac River to the Ohio River. The Wheeling Suspension Bridge was built over the river at Wheeling from 1847 to 1849, making the trip west easier. For a brief time, until 1851, it was the world's largest suspension bridge. The bridge survived the American Civil War , after having been improved in 1859. It was renovated again in 1872, and remains in use as the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in

12780-405: The Stamp Act Congress in New York . Henry's role in the active resistance that took place in Virginia against the Stamp Act is uncertain. Although the lack of a legislative session sidelined Henry during the crisis, it also undermined the established leaders of the chamber, who remained scattered through the colony with little opportunity to confer as the public rage for change grew hotter. When

12993-451: The Tennessee River , where they landed on an island and prepared for the final stage of the journey. Normally, travelers going to Kaskaskia would continue to the Mississippi River , and then paddle upstream to the village. Because Clark hoped to take Kaskaskia by surprise, he decided to march his men across what is now the southern tip of Illinois and approach the village by land, a journey of about 120 miles (190 km). Clark's men captured

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13206-461: The Underground Railroad resistance movement. The Ohio River is a climatic transition area, as its water runs along the periphery of the humid subtropical and humid continental climate areas. It is inhabited by fauna and flora of both climates. Today, the Ohio River is one of the most polluted rivers in the United States. In winter, it regularly freezes over at Pittsburgh but rarely farther south towards Cincinnati and Louisville . Further down

13419-524: The Vincennes Trace . The party, which escorted two captive Canadien deserters in tow, had been ordered by Hamilton to patrol the nearby area. Having been informed by his Kickapoo allies of the party's movements, Clark ordered a detachment of soldiers under the command of Captain John Williams to capture them. The war party mistakenly assumed Williams and his men were there to escort them into Fort Sackville, and greeted them by discharging their firearms. Williams responded by firing his weapon before seizing one of

13632-522: The Virginia Ratifying Convention in 1788, "That religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence, and therefore all men have an equal, natural and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience, and that no particular religious sect or society ought to be favored or established by law in preference to others." In 1754, Henry married Sarah Shelton, reportedly in

13845-444: The Wilderness Road to meet with Governor Henry, joining along the way a party of about 100 settlers who were leaving Kentucky because of the Indian raids. Clark presented his plan to Governor Henry on December 10, 1777. To maintain secrecy, Clark's proposal was only shared with a small group of influential Virginians, including Thomas Jefferson , George Mason , and George Wythe . Although Henry initially expressed doubts about whether

14058-412: The fifth convention , to meet the following month. Most delegates were for independence but were divided on how and when to declare it. Henry introduced a resolution declaring Virginia independent and urging the Congress to declare all the colonies free. When he at last spoke, according to clergyman Edmund Randolph , Henry "appeared in an element for which he was born. To cut the knot, which calm prudence

14271-409: The first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia , from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786. A native of Hanover County, Virginia , Henry was primarily educated at home. After an unsuccessful venture running a store, as well as assisting his father-in-law at Hanover Tavern , he became a lawyer through self-study. Beginning his practice in 1760, Henry soon became prominent through his victory in

14484-406: The keelboats used for commerce in the early days of American settlement. The Ohio River boatmen inspired performer Dan Emmett , who in 1843 wrote the song " The Boatman's Dance ". Trading boats and ships traveled south on the Mississippi to New Orleans , and sometimes beyond to the Gulf of Mexico and other ports in the Americas and Europe. This provided a much-needed export route for goods from

14697-424: The southeastern U.S. It is the source of drinking water for five million people. The river became a primary transportation route for pioneers during the westward expansion of the early U.S. The lower Ohio River just below Louisville was obstructed by rapids known as the Falls of the Ohio where the elevation falls 26 feet (7.9 m) in 2 miles (3.2 km) restricting larger commercial navigation, although in

14910-401: The "canalization" of the river in 1929, the Ohio has not been a natural free-flowing river; today, it is divided into 21 discrete pools or reservoirs by 20 locks and dams for navigation and power generation. The name "Ohio" comes from the Seneca , Ohi:yo' , lit.  "Good River". In his Notes on the State of Virginia published in 1781–82, Thomas Jefferson stated: "The Ohio

15123-415: The 1720s. Settling in Hanover County in about 1732, John Henry married Sarah Winston Syme , a wealthy widow from a prominent local family of English ancestry. Patrick Henry shared his name with his uncle, an Anglican minister, and until the elder Patrick's death in 1777 often went as Patrick Henry Jr. Henry attended a local school until about the age of 10. There was no academy in Hanover County, and he

15336-578: The 18th and early 19th century its three deepest channels could be traversed by a wide variety of craft then in use. In 1830, the Louisville and Portland Canal (now the McAlpine Locks and Dam ) bypassed the rapids, allowing even larger commercial and modern navigation from the Forks of the Ohio at Pittsburgh to the Port of New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi on the Gulf of Mexico. Since

15549-693: The 19th century, it was not published in its entirety until 1896, in William Hayden English 's Conquest of the Northwest . The Memoir formed the basis of two popular novels, Alice of Old Vincennes (1900) by Maurice Thompson , and The Crossing (1904) by American novelist Winston Churchill . The Illinois campaign was also depicted in Long Knife , a 1979 historical novel by James Alexander Thom . The United States Navy has named four ships USS Vincennes in honor of that battle. The debate about whether George Rogers Clark "conquered"

15762-535: The 30 Patrick Henry already had. He sold Scotchtown in 1777 and moved to Leatherwood Plantation in Henry County , which the General Assembly had just created and named for him. When Washington and his troops encamped at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777–78, Henry arranged for livestock and other food to be sent to their relief. There was discontent against Washington, who was not seen by some as

15975-765: The Appearances of actual War". By this time, word of the Battles of Lexington and Concord had arrived, and many Virginians believed that war with Britain had begun. With his troops reinforced by eager volunteers from nearby counties, Henry likely had force enough to take Williamsburg and deal Dunmore a humiliating defeat, but increasingly prominent messengers urging caution slowed his advance, and in New Kent County , still some 16 miles (26 km) from Williamsburg, three of Henry's fellow delegates to Congress helped persuade him to leave off his march. As Henry insisted

16188-559: The Burgesses eventually convened, Henry sometimes opposed the colonial leaders but united with them against British policies. In the late 1760s and early 1770s, Henry spent more time concentrating on his personal affairs, though he advanced in standing within the Burgesses serving on powerful committees. The Henry family moved to a new house on his Louisa County property, probably in late 1765, and lived there until 1769 when he returned to Hanover County. His law practice remained strong until

16401-544: The Burgesses expunged the fifth resolution, and Royal Governor Francis Fauquier refused to allow any of them to be printed in the official newspaper, the Virginia Gazette . With the official texts of the passed resolutions denied them, newspapers in the colonies and in Britain printed all seven resolutions, all of them presented as the resolves of the influential Colony of Virginia. The resolutions, more radical as

16614-477: The Canadien leaders, which led the rest of the party to flee in panic; Williams' men opened fire, killing two, wounding three and capturing eight. The two deserters were released after being captured, and the remaining six captives consisted of a Canadien and five Indians. Clark ordered the five Indians to be murdered before the fort to terrify the British and sow dissension between them and their Indian allies. At

16827-657: The Colony of Virginia to independence as royal authority came to an end. Their work was advanced by many resolutions of county meetings, denying the authority of Parliament over the colonies and calling for a boycott of imports. The first convention met in Williamsburg in the chamber of the Burgesses beginning on August 1; Dunmore was absent from the capital fighting the Native Americans and could not interfere. Divided between those who wanted separation from Britain and those who still hoped for some accommodation, it met for

17040-617: The Congress and a political rival of Henry's, accepted the invitation. Delegates and prominent Philadelphians took an intense interest in the Virginians, who had taken the lead in resistance to Britain but whom few in the other colonies had met. This was Henry's first stay in the North aside from a brief business trip to New York in 1770, but he found that his actions were well known. The sessions began on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall . Silas Deane of Connecticut described Henry as "the compleatest speaker I ever heard ... but in

17253-509: The General Assembly, as the Virginia legislature is known. Under the 1776 constitution, the governor, elected by the two houses of the legislature, was not even given the power to veto legislation and was required to act with the approval of the Governor's Council on important matters. Henry opposed the weakness of the governor, feeling it was risky at a time of war to have the executive so weak, but his views did not prevail. He had reason to rue

17466-554: The General Court, ignoring precedent that judicial proceedings should begin in the county where the offense took place or where the suspect had been captured. This was a sensitive matter especially because of the recent Gaspee Affair in Rhode Island, in which the British sought to capture and transport overseas for trial those who had burned a British ship. The Burgesses wanted to rebuke Dunmore for his actions, and Henry

17679-523: The Government of the SLAVES may, I hope, counteract this dangerous Attempt. Constant, and well directed Patrols, seem indispensably necessary." Henry saw no action himself, and there were murmurs in the convention against his command; some feared he was too radical to be an effective military leader. In February 1776, Virginia's forces were reorganized as they were placed under Continental command. Henry

17892-469: The Holston men deserted that night; seven or eight were caught and brought back, but others eluded capture and returned to their homes. While Clark and his officers drilled the troops in preparation for the Kaskaskia expedition, the families who had traveled with the regiment down the Ohio River settled on the island and planted a corn crop. These settlers moved to the mainland the following year, founding

18105-729: The Holston valley were more concerned with Cherokees to the south than with Indians north of the Ohio, and were reluctant to enlist in operations to the north. Although some Pennsylvanians enlisted in the Illinois Regiment, the longstanding boundary dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia meant that few Pennsylvanians volunteered for what was perceived as a campaign to protect Virginia territory. After repeated delays to allow time for more men to join, Clark left Redstone by boat on May 12, 1778, with about 150 recruits, organized in three companies under captains Bowman, Helm, and Harrod. Clark expected to rendezvous with 200 Holston men under Captain Smith at

18318-538: The Illinois Country, Virginia had claimed the region, establishing Illinois County, Virginia in December 1778. In early 1781, Virginia resolved to hand the region over to the central government, paving the way for the final ratification of the Articles of Confederation . These lands became the Northwest Territory of the United States. The Illinois campaign was funded in large part by local residents and merchants of

18531-410: The Illinois country. Although Clark submitted his receipts to Virginia, many of these men were never reimbursed. Some of the major contributors, such as Father Gibault, François Riday Busseron , Charles Gratiot , and Francis Vigo, would never receive payment during their lifetime, and would be reduced to poverty. However, Clark and his soldiers were given land across from Louisville. This Clark's Grant

18744-510: The Indian War." In the coming years of the war, Clark attempted to organize a campaign against Detroit, but each time the expedition was called off because of insufficient men and supplies. Meanwhile, settlers began to pour into Kentucky after hearing news of Clark's victory. In 1779, Virginia opened a land office to register claims in Kentucky, and settlements such as Louisville were established. After learning of Clark's initial occupation of

18957-464: The Mississippi River at Thebes, Illinois , which is upstream of the confluence, is 208,200 cu ft/s (5,897 m /s). The Ohio River flow is greater than that of the Mississippi River, so hydrologically the Ohio River is the main stream of the river system. The Ohio River is a naturally shallow river that was artificially deepened by a series of dams . The natural depth of the river varied from about 3 to 20 feet (1 to 6 m). The dams raise

19170-643: The Natural Bridge), crossing Greenbrier River and landing at the New River . At New River, the Virginia explorers built a large bull boat frame and covered it with five buffalo skins. The first Englishmen to explore the region then followed the New River for 250 miles (400 km), until it became too dangerous to navigate. At a large waterfall, they traveled overland to the Coal River . Following

19383-604: The Northwest Territory for the United States began soon after the Revolutionary War ended, when the government worked to sort out land claims and war debts. In July 1783, Governor Benjamin Harrison thanked Clark for "wresting so great and valuable a territory out of the hands of the British Enemy...." Clark himself never made such a claim, despairingly writing that he had never captured Detroit. "I have lost

19596-759: The Ohio River and the Clinch River in Virginia and Tennessee . In his original draft of the Land Ordinance of 1784 , Thomas Jefferson proposed a new state called "Pelisipia", to the south of the Ohio River, which would have included parts of present-day Eastern Kentucky , Virginia and West Virginia . The river had great significance in the history of the Native Americans , as numerous prehistoric and historic civilizations formed along its valley. For thousands of years, Native Americans used

19809-569: The Ohio River opened about the same time. Although such boats cruised on the Ohio River in an oval pattern up and down, the state of Kentucky soon protested. Other states had to limit their cruises to going forward, then reversing and going backward on the Indiana shore only. Both Illinois and Indiana have long since changed their laws to allow riverboat casinos to be permanently docked, with Illinois changing in 1999 and Indiana in 2002. The Silver Bridge at Point Pleasant, West Virginia , collapsed into

20022-477: The Ohio River was called the " River Jordan " by slaves crossing it to escape to freedom in the North via the Underground Railroad . More escaping slaves, estimated in the thousands, made their perilous journey north to freedom across the Ohio River than anywhere else across the north-south frontier. Harriet Beecher Stowe 's Uncle Tom's Cabin , the bestselling novel that fueled abolitionist work,

20235-633: The Ohio River's rapids and tributaries in that area. However, the 1783 Treaty of Paris gave the entire Ohio Valley to the United States , and numerous white settlers entered the region. The economic connection of the Ohio Country to the East was significantly increased in 1818 when the National Road being built westward from Cumberland, Maryland , reached Wheeling, Virginia , (now West Virginia ), providing an easier overland connection from

20448-570: The Ohio and Mississippi to cotton and sugar plantations in the Deep South . Changes in crops cultivated in the Upper South resulted in slaves available to be sold to the South, where the expansion of cotton plantations was doing very well. Invention of the cotton gin made cultivation of short-staple cotton profitable throughout the Black Belt of this region. Before and during the Civil War,

20661-559: The Ohio by discharge volume are: By drainage basin area, the largest tributaries are: The largest tributaries by length are: Major tributaries, in order from the headwaters, include: Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 [ O.S. May 18, 1736] – June 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death! " A Founding Father , he served as

20874-619: The Parson's Cause) resigned as burgess for Louisa County . As Henry owned land in the county (acquired from his father to settle a loan), he was eligible to be a candidate, and he won the seat in May 1765. He left immediately for Williamsburg as the session had already begun. The expense of the Seven Years' War (called the French and Indian War in North America) (1756–1763) had nearly doubled Britain's national debt, and as much of

21087-663: The Roman patriot Cato the Younger . Henry's speech carried the day, and the convention adopted his amendments. Still, they passed only narrowly, as many delegates were uncertain where the resistance urged by Henry and other radicals would lead, and few counties formed independent militia companies at the urging of the convention. The text of Henry's speech first appeared in print in Wirt's 1817 biography, published 18 years after Patrick Henry's death. Wirt corresponded with men who had heard

21300-504: The Stamp Act crisis, suggest that Henry saw the Stamp Act as both a threat to Virginians' rights and an opportunity to advance himself politically. If this be treason, make the most of it! — Henry addressing the Virginia House of Burgesses There are no verbatim transcriptions of Henry's speech in opposition to the Stamp Act. Texts are reconstructions, for the most part based on recollections decades later, by which time both

21513-456: The Stamp Act provided the opportunity for Patrick Henry's spectacular entry into politics". Fauquier dissolved the Burgesses on June 1, 1765, hoping new elections would purge the radicals, but this proved not to be the case as conservative leaders were instead voted out. The governor did not call the Burgesses into session until November 1766, by which time the Stamp Act had been repealed by Parliament, preventing Virginia from sending delegates to

21726-476: The Two Penny Act, as a "tyrant" who "forfeits all right to his subjects' obedience", and the clergy, by challenging an impartial law designed to bring economic relief, had shown themselves to be "enemies of the community". The opposing counsel accused Henry of treason, and some took up that cry, but Henry continued, and the judge did nothing to stop him. Henry urged the jury to make an example of Maury, for

21939-429: The U.S. Louisville was founded in 1778 as a military encampment on Corn Island (now submerged) by General George Rogers Clark at the only major natural navigational barrier on the river, the Falls of the Ohio . The Falls were a series of rapids where the river dropped 26 feet (7.9 m) in a stretch of about 2 miles (3.2 km). In this area, the river flowed over hard, fossil-rich beds of limestone . The outpost

22152-557: The United States and the largest tributary by volume of the north-south flowing Mississippi River, which divides the eastern from western United States. It is also the sixth oldest river on the North American continent. The river flows through or along the border of six states , and its drainage basin includes parts of 14 states. Through its largest tributary, the Tennessee River , the basin includes several states of

22365-521: The United States. Father Pierre Gibault , the village priest, was won over after Clark assured him that the Catholic Church would be protected under the laws of Virginia. Rocheblave and several others deemed hostile to the Americans were kept as prisoners and later sent to Virginia. Clark soon extended his authority to the nearby French settlements. On the afternoon of July 5, Captain Bowman

22578-599: The Virginia mountains to the Mississippi River. The elder Howard had a promised reward of 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of land for a successful expedition from the Virginia Royal Governor's Council to reinforce British claims in the west. Howard offered equal shares of the 10,000 acres to the four other members of his expedition. The party of five left John Peter Salling's house in August County on March 16, 1742, and traveled west to Cedar Creek (near

22791-548: The West (to the Mississippi River and north to present-day Minnesota) against British and Native American forces, Henry in December 1777 sent George Rogers Clark on an expedition against Kaskaskia , site of a British and French settlement. This part of Clark's mission was secret; his public orders merely stated he was to raise a militia and go to Kentucky (then part of Virginia). Clark captured Kaskaskia in July 1778 and remained north of

23004-441: The ability to import more African slaves cut off, Virginia later became a source of slaves sold south in the coastwise slave trade . In 1773, Henry came into conflict with the royal governor, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore . The governor, appointed in 1771, had sent British soldiers to Pittsylvania County to aid in apprehending a gang of counterfeiters. Once captured, they were immediately taken to Williamsburg for trial before

23217-474: The area near modern-day Pittsburgh led to conflict with the French, who had forts in the Ohio River Valley . This conflict was called the French and Indian War , and would merge into the global Anglo-French struggle, the Seven Years' War . In 1763, following its defeat in the war, France ceded its area east of the Mississippi River to Britain and its area west of the Mississippi River to Spain in

23430-647: The argument, and his theatrics made Congress's leaders afraid he would be unpredictable if placed on the lead committee charged with composing a statement regarding colonial rights. Instead, he was put on the next most important committee, one inquiring into commercial regulation. In the end, though, neither committee produced much of importance. Henry believed the purpose of the Congress should be to mobilize public opinion towards war. In this, he found common cause with John Adams and Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, but not all were of that opinion. According to Tate, Henry "turned out not to be an especially influential member of

23643-472: The benefit of any who might seek to imitate him and suggested the jury return damages of one farthing . The jury was out for only moments and fixed damages at one penny. Henry was hailed as a hero. According to biographer Henry Mayer, Henry had "defined the prerogatives of the local elite by the unorthodox means of mobilizing the emotions of the lower ranks of religious and political outsiders." Henry's popularity greatly increased, and he added 164 new clients in

23856-525: The body". The Congress decided on a petition to the king ; Henry prepared two drafts, but neither proved satisfactory. When Congress on October 26 approved a draft prepared by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, who had consulted with Henry and also Richard Henry Lee , Henry had already departed for home, and Lee signed on his behalf. The petition was rejected in London. After the birth of their sixth child in 1771, Patrick's wife Sarah Shelton Henry began to exhibit symptoms of mental illness, and one reason for

24069-401: The border between West Virginia and Ohio, upstream of Wheeling, West Virginia . The river follows a roughly southwest and then west-northwest course until Cincinnati, before bending to a west-southwest course for most of the remainder of its length. The course forms the northern borders of West Virginia and Kentucky ; and the southern borders of Ohio , Indiana and Illinois , until it joins

24282-533: The campaign was feasible, Clark managed to win the confidence of Henry and the others. The plan was approved by the members of the Virginia General Assembly , who were only given vague details about the expedition. Publicly, Clark was authorized to raise men for the defense of Kentucky. In a secret set of instructions from Governor Henry, Clark was instructed to capture Kaskaskia and then proceed as he saw fit. Governor Henry commissioned Clark as

24495-404: The chamber, including by Speaker John Robinson . John Tyler Sr. (father of the future president), who was standing with Jefferson as they watched the session, called this one of "the trying moments which is decisive of character", and both recalled that Henry did not waver: "If this be treason, make the most of it!". The Burgesses adopted the first five resolutions—the two others, which denied

24708-479: The chief's offer, fearing that in the darkness his men might mistake the friendly Piankeshaws and Kickapoos for one of the enemy tribes that were in the area. At about 9:00 a.m. on February 24, Clark sent a message to the fort demanding Hamilton's surrender. Hamilton declined, and the firing continued for another two hours until Hamilton sent out his prisoner, Captain Helm, to offer terms. Clark sent Helm back with

24921-896: The church, Clark and Bowman met with Hamilton and signed terms of surrender. At 10:00 a.m. on February 25, Hamilton's garrison of 79 men marched out of the fort. Clark's men raised the American flag over the fort and renamed it Fort Patrick Henry. A team of Clark's soldiers and local militia was sent upriver on the Wabash, where a supply convoy was captured, along with British reinforcements and Philippe DeJean , Hamilton's judge in Detroit. Clark sent Hamilton, seven of his officers, and 18 other prisoners to Williamsburg. Canadiens who had accompanied Hamilton were paroled after taking an oath of neutrality. Clark had high hopes after his recapture of Vincennes. "This stroke", he said, "will nearly put an end to

25134-632: The citizens agreed to take the oath of allegiance, and the local militia garrisoned Fort Sackville . Gibault returned to Clark in early August to report that Vincennes had been captured and that the American flag was now flying at Fort Sackville. Clark dispatched Captain Helm to Vincennes to take command of the Canadien militia. In Detroit, Hamilton learned of Clark's occupation of the Illinois Country by early August 1778. Determined to retake Vincennes, Hamilton gathered about 30 British soldiers, 145 Canadien militiamen, and 60 American Indians under Egushawa ,

25347-559: The colonial (and, later, state) government to recognize his claims. This was common among Virginia's leading citizens, such as George Washington . Henry foresaw the potential of the Ohio Valley and was involved in schemes to found settlements. Income from land deals in 1771 enabled him to buy Scotchtown , a large plantation in Hanover County, which he purchased from John Payne, the father of Dolley Madison —she lived there for

25560-651: The colonists be compensated, a member of the Governor's Council agreed to pay the value of the powder by bill of exchange . Although Dunmore issued a proclamation against "a certain Patrick Henry , of the County of Hanover , and a Number of his deluded Followers", 15 county committees quickly approved Henry's action, and when he finally departed for Philadelphia, he was escorted to the Potomac by militia who lined

25773-482: The colonists had the same rights and privileges as Britons; the next two stated that taxation should be exacted only by one's representatives . The fifth was the most provocative, as it named the Virginia legislature, the General Assembly , as the representatives of Virginia empowered to tax. Two other resolutions were offered, though their authorship is uncertain. Edmund and Helen Morgan, in their account of

25986-545: The colonists of the Thirteen Colonies . Lord Dunmore's War south of the Ohio river also contributed to cession of land north to Quebec to prevent colonial expansion onto Native American territory. During the Revolutionary War . in 1776 the British military engineer John Montrésor created a map of the river showing the strategic location of Fort Pitt , including specific navigational information about

26199-485: The committee, George Mason of Fairfax County, who did not arrive in Williamsburg until May 18, delayed by illness. Mason first drafted a Declaration of Rights ; it was discussed in the Cary Committee on May 25. Mason's draft, more than the final declaration, would be highly influential, used by Jefferson in writing the Declaration of Independence and by writers of many 18th and 19th century state constitutions. When

26412-410: The commotion, Hamilton did not realize the fort was under attack until one of his men was wounded by a bullet coming through a window. Clark had his men build an entrenchment 200 yards (180 m) in front of the fort's gate. While men fired at the fort throughout the night, small squads crept up to within 30 yards (27 m) of the walls to get a closer shot. The British fired their cannon, destroying

26625-418: The conspiracy. President Washington wrote of Henry in 1794, "I have always respected and esteemed him; nay more, I have conceived myself under obligation to him for the friendly manner in which he transmitted to me some insidious anonymous writings in the close of the year 1777 with a view to embark him in the opposition that was forming against me at that time". In an effort to secure Virginia's vast claims in

26838-423: The county militia but did not want to join the Continental Army lest they be sent out of state or exposed to disease. Desertion was also a problem Henry labored to solve with limited success; many Virginians had been induced to enlist with promises they would not be sent outside the state or local area, and they left when orders came to march. Henry was elected to a second one-year term without opposition and took

27051-493: The courts under royal authority closed in 1774. Jefferson later complained that Henry was lazy and ignorant in the practice of the law, his sole talent trying cases before juries, and accused Henry of charging criminal defendants high fees to get them acquitted. Norine Dickson Campbell, in her biography of Henry, found Jefferson's comments unfounded; that Henry's rates were moderate for the time and cited earlier historians as to Henry's competence. Jefferson's comments came years after

27264-627: The date upon which the Port of Boston was to be closed, as a day of fasting and prayer. It passed the Burgesses, but Dunmore dissolved the body. Undeterred, the former legislators met at the Raleigh Tavern and reconstituted themselves as a convention to meet again in August, after there was time for county meetings to show local sentiment. They also called for a boycott of tea and other products. The five Virginia Conventions (1774–1776) would guide

27477-434: The draft was debated, Henry, at the request of a young delegate from Orange County , James Madison , produced an amendment changing Mason's call for religious tolerance to one requiring full freedom of religion . This was seen as a threat to Virginia's established religion, Anglicanism, and did not pass. Madison reworked it and had another delegate introduce it, likely Edmund Randolph , and it passed. Mason's draft called for

27690-465: The drought, the price of tobacco had long been two pence per pound (0.45 kilograms) and in 1755 and 1758, the Virginia House of Burgesses, the elected lower house of the colonial legislature, passed the Two Penny Act , allowing debts expressed in tobacco to be paid at the rate of twopence per pound for a limited period. These payees included public officials, including Anglican clergy—Anglicanism

27903-412: The expedition used the Ohio River as a corridor to the Mississippi. Among the officers who accompanied this party were Major de Lignery; Lieutenants, de Vassan, Aubert de Gaspe, Du Vivier, de Verrier, Le Gardeur de St. Pierre, Chevalier de Villiers, de Portneuf, de Sabrevious; Father Vernet, chaplain; Cadets, Joncaire de Closonne , Le Gai de Joncaire, Drouet de Richarville the younger, Chaussegros de Lery

28116-468: The first reported eyewitness accounts of Shannoah , a Shawnee town, was by le Moyne III in July 1739. On their journey down the Ohio River toward the Mississippi, they met with local chiefs in a village on the Scioto River . John Howard, a pioneer from Virginia, led a party of five— John Peter Salling (a Pennsylvania German), Josiah Howard (John's son), Charles Sinclair, and John Poteet (Vizt)—from

28329-559: The fort at Kaskaskia was unguarded, that the French-speaking residents were not greatly attached to the British, and that no one expected an attack from Kentucky. Clark wrote a letter to Governor Patrick Henry of Virginia in which he outlined a plan to capture Kaskaskia. Because the Kentucky settlers lacked the authority, manpower, and supplies to launch the expedition themselves, in October 1777 Clark traveled to Williamsburg via

28542-596: The fur trade from the Iroquois nations to the northeast, they migrated west of the Mississippi River in the 17th century to the territory now defined as Missouri , Arkansas , and Oklahoma . Several accounts exist of the discovery and traversal of the Ohio River by Europeans in the latter half of the 17th century: Virginian colonist Abraham Wood 's trans-Appalachian expeditions between 1654 and 1664; Frenchman Robert de La Salle 's putative Ohio expedition of 1669; and two expeditions of Virginians sponsored by Colonel Wood:

28755-586: The government, to be issued in case of need, such as a slave uprising. Dunmore's actions outraged many Virginians. Henry had departed for Philadelphia, having been elected a delegate to the Second Continental Congress , but a messenger caught up with him before he left Hanover County, and he returned to take command of the local militia. Seeking the restoration of the powder, or that the colonists be compensated for it, on May 2, Henry led his troops towards Williamsburg with, as Dunmore wrote, "all

28968-531: The heels of contamination from a high-profile train derailment , and following years as one of the most polluted watersheds in the United States. The Ohio River is extensively industrialized and populated. Regular barge traffic carries cargoes of oil, steel and other industrial goods produced in the region. Major cities located along the northern and southern banks of the river include Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; Louisville, Kentucky ; Evansville, Indiana ; and Cincinnati, Ohio . The combined Allegheny-Ohio river

29181-402: The importation of slaves. Henry is remembered for his oratory and as an enthusiastic promoter of the fight for independence. Henry was born on the family farm, Studley , in Hanover County in the Colony of Virginia , on May 29, 1736. His father was John Henry, an immigrant from Aberdeenshire , Scotland, who had attended King's College , University of Aberdeen, before emigrating to Virginia in

29394-473: The increasing size of steamships and barges on the river meant that the outdated locks could serve only the smallest vessels until well after the Civil War when improvements were made. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers improvements were expanded again in the 1960s, forming the present-day McAlpine Locks and Dam . During the nineteenth century, emigrants from Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky traveled by

29607-562: The influential Odawa war leader. An advance party of militiamen was led by Captain Normand MacLeod of the Detroit Volunteer Militia. On October 7, Hamilton's main contingent began the journey of more than 300 miles (480 km) to Vincennes. Coming down the Wabash, they stopped at Ouiatanon and recruited Indians who had declared allegiance to the Americans after Clark's occupation of the Illinois country. By

29820-404: The journey. These men stayed with the families on the island and guarded the provisions stored there. Clark's force numbered about 175 men, organized in four companies under Captains Bowman, Helm, Harrod, and Montgomery. They passed over the whitewater of the falls during a total solar eclipse , which some of the men regarded as a good omen. On June 28, the Illinois Regiment reached the mouth of

30033-603: The largest inhabited island in the Ohio River, belongs to West Virginia, although it is closer to the Ohio shore than to the West Virginia shore. Kentucky sued the state of Indiana in the early 1980s because of their construction of the never-completed Marble Hill Nuclear Power Plant in Indiana, which would have discharged its waste water into the river. This would have adversely affected Kentucky's water supplies. The U.S. Supreme Court held that Kentucky's jurisdiction (and, implicitly, that of West Virginia) extended only to

30246-523: The low-water mark of 1793 (important because the river has been extensively dammed for navigation so that the present river bank is north of the old low-water mark). Similarly, in the 1990s, Kentucky challenged Illinois's right to collect taxes on a riverboat casino docked in Metropolis , citing its own control of the entire river. A private casino riverboat that docked in Evansville, Indiana , on

30459-649: The main house burned down, Henry gave up and moved to the Hanover Tavern, owned by Sarah's father. Henry often served as host at Hanover Tavern as part of his duties and entertained the guests by playing the fiddle. Among those who stayed there during this time was Thomas Jefferson , aged 17, en route to his studies at the College of William & Mary , and who later wrote that he became well acquainted with Henry then, despite their age difference of six years. Jefferson in 1824 told Daniel Webster , "Patrick Henry

30672-738: The mountains, traversing the Tioga River and reaching a tributary of the Allegheny River before floating down to the Shawnee towns along the Ohio River. Viele and his expedition spent most of 1693 exploring the Ohio River and its tributaries in northern Kentucky with their Shawnee hosts. Gerit Luykasse, two of Viele's Dutch traders, and two Shawnee reappeared in Albany in February 1694 "to fetch powder for Arnout [Viele] and his Company"; their party had been gone for fifteen months, but Viele

30885-483: The mouth of the Ohio, settlers would travel north on the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri . There, some continued on up the Missouri River , some up the Mississippi, and some farther west over land routes. In the early 19th century, river pirates such as Samuel Mason , operating out of Cave-In-Rock, Illinois , waylaid travelers on their way down the river. They killed travelers, stealing their goods and scuttling their boats. The folktales about Mike Fink recall

31098-415: The move from Louisa County to Scotchtown was so they could be near family members. Henry's biographer, Jon Kukla believes she was the victim of postpartum psychosis , for which there was no treatment. At times, she was restrained in a form of straitjacket . Although Virginia had opened the first public mental facility in North America in 1773, Henry decided that she was better off at Scotchtown and prepared

31311-403: The need for Americans to unify and create a government to fill the void left with the end of British authority, "Fleets and armies and the present state of things shew that Government is dissolved. Where are your landmarks? your boundaries of colonies? The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American." Henry lost

31524-438: The oath on July 2, 1777. On October 9 at Scotchtown, he married Dorothea Dandridge , daughter of his old client, Nathaniel West Dandridge of Hanover County. This made him closer kin to Washington, as Nathaniel Dandridge was Martha Washington 's uncle. To add to the six children he had by Sarah Henry, he would have eleven more by Dorothea, though two by the second marriage died very young. She brought 12 slaves with her, adding to

31737-432: The object,” he said. In the 19th century and into the mid-20th century, Clark was frequently referred to as the "Conqueror of the Northwest" in history books. In the 20th century, however, some historians began to doubt that interpretation, arguing that because resource shortages compelled Clark to recall his troops from the Illinois Country before the end of the war, and because most American Indians remained undefeated, there

31950-418: The office's lack of power, as on June 29, 1776, the convention elected him as Virginia's first post-independence governor, by 60 votes to 45 for Thomas Nelson Jr. The election of Henry, at that time Virginia's most popular politician, helped assure acceptance of the new authorities but also placed him in a figurehead position, removed from the true power in the new government, the House of Delegates. Henry

32163-438: The original Virginia Constitution . Henry was promptly elected governor under the new charter and served a total of five one-year terms. After leaving the governorship in 1779, Henry served in the Virginia House of Delegates until he began his last two terms as governor in 1784. The actions of the national government under the Articles of Confederation made Henry fear a strong federal government, and he declined appointment as

32376-422: The others back to Kentucky to help defend the settlements. The new recruits were placed in a company under Captain John Montgomery . In Montgomery's company was a scout named Simon Kenton , who was on his way to becoming a legendary Kentucky frontiersman. On the island, Clark revealed that the real purpose of the expedition was to invade the Illinois country. The news was greeted with enthusiasm by many, but some of

32589-400: The parlor of her family house, Rural Plains . (It also became known as Shelton House.) As a wedding gift, her father gave the couple six slaves and the 300-acre (1.2 km ) Pine Slash Farm near Mechanicsville . Pine Slash was exhausted from earlier cultivations, and Henry worked with the slaves to clear fresh fields. The latter half of the 1750s were years of drought in Virginia, and after

32802-450: The people of Vincennes were still sympathetic to the Americans. The next day, Clark and his men crossed the Wabash by canoe, leaving their packhorses behind. They marched towards Vincennes, sometimes in water up to their shoulders. The last few days were the hardest: crossing a flooded plain about 4 miles (6 km) wide, they used the canoes to shuttle the weary from high point to high point. Shortly before reaching Vincennes, they encountered

33015-413: The people of Virginia, both through his oratory at the convention and by marching troops towards the colonial capital of Williamsburg after the Gunpowder Incident until the munitions seized by the royal government were paid for. Henry urged independence, and when the Fifth Virginia Convention endorsed this in 1776, he served on the committee charged with drafting the Virginia Declaration of Rights and

33228-435: The population of the Illinois Country consisted of about 1,000 people of European descent, mostly French-speaking , and about 600 African-American slaves. Thousands of American Indians lived in villages concentrated along the Mississippi , Illinois , and Wabash Rivers . The British military presence was sparse: most of the troops had been withdrawn in 1776 to cut back on expenses. Philippe-François de Rastel de Rocheblave ,

33441-447: The port of Boston in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party , and several burgesses, including Henry, convened at the Raleigh Tavern to formulate a response. According to George Mason , a former burgess from Fairfax County who joined the committee in the work, Henry took the lead. Mason and Henry formed a close political relationship that lasted until Mason's death in 1792. The resolution that Henry's committee produced set June 1, 1774,

33654-429: The present U.S. states of Indiana and Illinois . The area had been a part of the Louisiana district of New France until the end of the French and Indian War / Seven Years' War , when France ceded sovereignty of the region east of the Mississippi to the British in 1763 Treaty of Paris . In the Quebec Act of 1774, the British made eastern Illinois country a part of its newly expanded Province of Quebec . In 1778,

33867-421: The proposed measure, and in Virginia pamphleteers developed arguments Henry had made in the Parson's Cause. Patrick Henry was sworn into a sleepy session of the legislature on May 20; many of the members had left town. On about May 28, a ship arrived with an urgent letter from Montague: the Stamp Act had passed. On May 29, Henry introduced the Virginia Stamp Act Resolves . The first two resolutions affirmed that

34080-521: The purpose of the expedition was to invade the Illinois Country. To raise men and purchase supplies, Clark was given £1,200 in Continental currency, which was badly inflated, especially because of British counterfeiting measures at the time. Clark established his headquarters at Redstone Old Fort on the Monongahela River , while three of Clark's associates from Dunmore's War, Joseph Bowman , Leonard Helm , and William Harrod , each began to recruit men. Clark commissioned Captain William Bailey Smith as

34293-453: The raiders, but Clark declined, believing that he could not spare the time. As he was nearing the Falls of the Ohio, Clark stopped at the mouth of the Kentucky River and sent a message upriver to Major Smith, telling him that it was time to rendezvous. Clark soon learned, however, that of Smith's four promised companies, only one partial company under a Captain Dillard had arrived in Kentucky. Clark therefore sent word to Colonel John Bowman ,

34506-443: The recapture of Vincennes, most of the Indians and Detroit Militia went home. Hamilton settled in at Fort Sackville, for the winter, with a garrison of about 90 soldiers, planning to retake the remaining Illinois towns, along the Mississippi River, in the spring. On January 29, 1779, Francis Vigo , an Italian fur trader, came to Kaskaskia to inform Clark about Hamilton's reoccupation of Vincennes. Clark decided that he needed to launch

34719-399: The resolution instructed the state's delegates in Congress to press for American independence, which they would, with Lee introducing the motion and Jefferson penning the Declaration . The convention then proceeded to consider a constitution for Virginia's government. Henry was appointed to a committee under the leadership of Archibald Cary . Much of the work fell to the final appointee to

34932-467: The right of any other body but the General Assembly to tax Virginians and which branded anyone who stated that Parliament had that right an enemy of the colony, were not passed. According to the Morgans, the passed resolutions differed little from language in petitions sent by the Burgesses to London in 1764, and the opposition to Henry may have been in part because he was an upstart in Virginia politics. On May 31, with Henry absent and likely returning home,

35145-493: The river and settled along its northern bank. Known as butternuts , they formed the dominant culture in the southern portions of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois with a society that was primarily Southern in culture. Largely devoted to agricultural pursuits, they shipped much of their produce along the river to ports such as Cincinnati. Because the Ohio River flowed westward, it became a convenient means of westward movement by pioneers traveling from western Pennsylvania. After reaching

35358-434: The river as a major transportation and trading route. In the five centuries before European colonization, the Mississippian culture built numerous regional chiefdoms and major earthwork mounds in the Ohio Valley like the Angel Mounds near Evansville, Indiana as well as in the Mississippi Valley and the Southeast. The historic Osage , Omaha , Ponca , and Kaw peoples lived in the Ohio Valley. Under pressure over

35571-526: The river in places like Paducah and Owensboro , Kentucky, closer to its confluence with the Mississippi, the Ohio is ice-free year-round. The name "Ohio" comes from the Seneca language (an Iroquoian language ), Ohi:yo' (roughly pronounced oh-hee-yoh, with the vowel in "hee" held longer ), a proper name derived from ohiːyoːh ("good river"), therefore literally translating to "Good River". "Great river" and "large creek" have also been given as translations. Native Americans , including

35784-451: The river on December 15, 1967. The collapse killed 46 people who had been crossing when the bridge failed. The bridge had been built in 1929, and by 1967 was carrying too heavy a load for its design. The bridge was rebuilt about one mile downstream and in service as the Silver Memorial Bridge in 1969. In the early 1980s, the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area was established at Clarksville, Indiana . The Ohio River as

35997-400: The river was too high to ford. They followed the Embarras down to the Wabash River, where the next day they began to build boats. Spirits were low: they had been without food for last two days, and Clark struggled to keep men from deserting. On February 20, five hunters from Vincennes were captured while traveling by boat. They told Clark that his little army had not yet been detected, and that

36210-431: The river. The colonial charter for Virginia defined its territory as extending to the north shore of the Ohio, so that the riverbed was "owned" by Virginia. Where the river serves as a boundary between states today, Congress designated the entire river to belong to the states on the east and south, i.e., West Virginia and Kentucky at the time of admission to the Union, that were divided from Virginia. Thus Wheeling Island ,

36423-425: The senior militia officer in Kentucky, requesting that the colonel send Dillard's men and any other recruits he could find to the falls. Clark's little flotilla reached the Falls of the Ohio on May 27. He set up a base camp on a small island in the midst of the rapids, later known as Corn Island . When the additional recruits from Kentucky and Holston finally arrived, Clark added 20 of these men to his force, and sent

36636-440: The settlement which became Louisville . While on the island, Clark received an important message from Pittsburgh: France had signed a Treaty of Alliance with the United States. Clark hoped that this information would be useful in securing the allegiance of the Canadien inhabitants of the Illinois country. Clark and his men set off from Corn Island on June 24, 1778, leaving behind seven soldiers who were deemed not hardy enough for

36849-404: The shore, cheering as his ferry pulled away. Not all approved; Henry's march appalled some moderates who feared he might provoke a conflict in which Virginia stood alone against Britain's might. They also saw him as a threat to the sanctity of property, for anyone's might be taken by Henry and his troops. As popular support for independence grew, opponents either joined in the movement or decided it

37062-472: The speech and Henry had become famous. For example, Jefferson, still in his studies at the nearby College of William & Mary, recalled the splendor of Henry's oratory. No attempt was made to reconstruct Henry's words until 1790, when James Madison wrote to former burgess Edmund Pendleton , but Madison learned that Pendleton had not been present; a second attempt did not occur until Wirt began work on his biography of Henry in 1805. A French traveler whose name

37275-574: The speech and others who were acquainted with people who were there at the time. All agreed that the speech had produced a profound effect, but it seems that only one person attempted to render an actual text. Judge St. George Tucker , who had been present for the speech, gave Wirt his recollections and Wirt wrote back stating that "I have taken almost entirely Mr. Henry's speech in the Convention of '75 from you, as well as your description of its effect on your verbatim." The original letter with Tucker's remembrances has been lost. For 160 years Wirt's account

37488-407: The statement he is well known for: If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come. It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there

37701-406: The time Hamilton entered Vincennes on December 17, so many Indians had joined the expedition that his force had increased to 500 men. As Hamilton approached Fort Sackville, the Canadien militia under Captain Helm deserted, leaving the American commander and a few soldiers to surrender. The townsfolk promptly renounced their allegiance to the United States and renewed their oaths to King George. After

37914-442: The topographical details of the course of this River to M. de Lery, Engineer, who surveyed it with the compass at the time that he descended it with a detachment of French troops in 1729. A map of the Ohio River valley, drawn by Bellin from observations by de Lery, is in Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix 's History of New France . The 1744 Bellin map, "Map of Louisiana" ( French : Carte de La Louisiane ), has an inscription at

38127-455: The town in two divisions, one commanded by Clark and the other by Bowman. Taking advantage of a slight elevation of land which concealed his men but allowed their flags to be seen, Clark maneuvered his troops to create the impression that 1,000 men were approaching. While Clark and Bowman secured the town, a detachment was sent to begin firing at Fort Sackville after their wet black powder was replaced by local resident François Busseron . Despite

38340-488: The town or die in the attempt." They crossed the Kaskaskia River about midnight and quickly secured the city without firing a shot. At Fort Gage , the Virginians captured Rocheblave, who was sleeping in his bed when the Americans burst into the lightly guarded fort. The next morning, Clark worked to secure the allegiance of the townspeople, a task made easier because Clark brought news of the Franco-American alliance. Residents were asked to take oath of loyalty to Virginia and

38553-440: The two, once friends, quarreled. In 1769, Henry was admitted to practice before the General Court of Virginia in Williamsburg, a venue more prestigious than the county courts. Henry invested some of his earnings in frontier lands, in what is now the western part of Virginia, as well as in present-day West Virginia and Kentucky. He claimed ownership though many of them were controlled by the Native Americans, and he sought to get

38766-433: The very shadowy political rule of the British." Ohio River The Ohio River is a 981-mile-long (1,579 km) river in the United States . It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States , flowing in a southwesterly direction from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinois . It is the third largest river by discharge volume in

38979-434: The war had taken place in and around North America, the British government looked for ways of directly taxing the American colonies. The 1765 Stamp Act was both a means of raising revenue and one of asserting authority over the colonies. The Burgesses instructed their agent in London, Edward Montague, to oppose the measure, and other colonial legislatures similarly instructed their representatives. Considerable debate began over

39192-402: The water level and have turned the river largely into a series of reservoirs , eliminating shallow stretches and allowing for commercial navigation. From its origin to Cincinnati, the average depth is approximately 15 feet (5 m). The largest immediate drop in water level is below the McAlpine Locks and Dam at the Falls of the Ohio at Louisville, Kentucky , where flood stage is reached when

39405-443: The water reaches 23 feet (7 m) on the lower gauge. However, the river's deepest point is 168 feet (51 m) on the western side of Louisville, Kentucky. From Louisville, the river loses depth very gradually until its confluence with the Mississippi at Cairo, Illinois , where it has an approximate depth of 19 feet (6 m). Water levels for the Ohio River from Smithland Lock and Dam upstream to Pittsburgh are predicted daily by

39618-404: The west since the trek east over the Appalachian Mountains was long and arduous. The need for access to the port of New Orleans by settlers in the Ohio Valley is one of the factors that led to the United States' Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Because the river is the southern border of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, it was part of the border between free states and slave states in the years before

39831-445: The whole house. Then the excited inquiry passed from man to man ... 'Who is it? Who is it?' The answer from the few who knew him was, it is Patrick Henry ." Henry was involved in the first dispute within the Congress on whether each colony should have an equal vote, taking the position that there should be proportional representation giving the larger colonies a greater voice. He argued that colonial borders must be swept away in

40044-440: The year after the Parson's Cause. In the wake of the Parson's Cause, Henry began to gain a following in backwoods Virginia because of his oratory defending the liberties of the common people and thanks to his friendly manner. He boosted his standing further in 1764 by representing Nathaniel West Dandridge, elected for Hanover County, in an election contest before the Burgesses. Dandridge was alleged to have bribed voters with drink,

40257-472: The younger, de Gannes, Chev. Benoist, de Morville, de Selles, and seventeen others. The rank and file consisted of three sergeants, six corporals, six lance corporals, twenty-four soldiers, forty-five habitants , one hundred and eighty-six Iroquois from the Sault, forty-one from the Lake of Two Mountains , thirty-two Algonquin and Nipissing , fifty Abenaqui from St. Francois and Bécancour, Quebec; Father La Bretonnier, Jesuit; Queret, missionary. One of

40470-482: Was Virginia's established church—and several ministers petitioned the Board of Trade in London to overrule the Burgesses, which it did. Five clergymen then brought suit for back pay, cases known as the Parson's Cause; of them, only the Reverend James Maury was successful, and a jury was to be empaneled in Hanover County on December 1, 1763, to fix damages. Henry was engaged as counsel by Maury's parish vestry for this hearing. Patrick Henry's father, Colonel John Henry,

40683-434: Was away for about two years. He and his companions returned from the Pennsylvania wilderness in August 1694, accompanied by diplomats from "seven Nations of Indians" who sought trade with the English (or peace with the powerful Iroquois nations of New York and Pennsylvania), and hundreds of Shawnee who intended to relocate in the Minisink country on the upper Delaware River . In 1729, Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry ,

40896-458: Was based from what is now Clarksville, Indiana and formed much of what would become Clark and eastern Floyd County, Indiana . In 1789, Clark began to write an account of the Illinois campaign at the request of John Brown and other members of the United States Congress , who were then deliberating how to administer the Northwest Territory . The Memoir , as it usually known, was not published in Clark's lifetime; although used by historians in

41109-421: Was based upon recollections and not notes, several decades after the speech; he wrote, "In vain should I attempt to give any idea of his speech". Scholars have argued to what extent the speech we know is the work of Wirt or Tucker. On April 21, 1775, Governor Dunmore had the Royal Marines under his command seize gunpowder from the magazine in Williamsburg and take it to a naval ship. The gunpowder belonged to

41322-478: Was moved that same year to the south shore where Fort-on-Shore was constructed. It proved insufficient within 3 years, and the mighty Fort Nelson was constructed upriver. The town of Louisville was chartered in 1780, in honor of King Louis XVI of France. The first locks on the river – the Louisville and Portland Canal – were built between 1825 and 1830 to circumnavigate the falls. Fears that Louisville's transshipment industry would collapse proved ill-founded: but

41535-457: Was necessary to ensure that guests were properly seen to. While at Hanover Tavern, Henry found time to study the law. How long he did so is unclear; he later said it was as little as a month. On the advice of a local lawyer, Henry in 1760 applied for a lawyer's license, appearing before the examiners—prominent attorneys in the colonial capital of Williamsburg. The examiners were impressed by Henry's mind even though his knowledge of legal procedures

41748-418: Was needed. Henry helped recruit new troops for Washington, but his efforts were hampered by several issues, including the weakness of Henry's office. In December 1776, with the General Assembly alarmed at reports Washington's army was in retreat as the British occupied Philadelphia, legislators granted Henry temporary expanded powers, something that Jefferson was still unhappy about years later, feeling that Henry

41961-426: Was no "conquest" of the Northwest. It was further argued that Clark's activities had no effect on the boundary negotiations in Europe. In 1940, historian Randolph Downes wrote, "It is misleading to say that Clark 'conquered' the Old Northwest, or that he 'captured' Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes. It would be more accurate to say that he assisted the French and Indian inhabitants of that region to remove themselves from

42174-421: Was originally a bar-keeper", a characterization that Henry's biographers have found to be unfair; that his position was more general than that, and that the main business of Hanover Tavern was serving travelers, not alcohol. William Wirt , Henry's earliest biographer, rejects Jefferson's suggestion that Henry's profession was a bartender but notes it would have been "very natural in Mr. Henry's situation" to do what

42387-657: Was part of a committee of eight that drafted a resolution thanking the governor for the capture of the gang but affirming that using the "usual mode" of criminal procedure protected both the guilty and the innocent. They also penned a plan, adopted by the Burgesses, for a committee of correspondence to communicate with leaders in other colonies to inform and coordinate with each other. The members included Henry. Although Henry had by this time come to believe that conflict with Great Britain, and independence, were inevitable, he had no strategy for this. The Burgesses were sitting when in 1774, word came that Parliament had voted to close

42600-416: Was puzzled to untie, was worthy of the magnificence of his genius. He entered into no subtlety of reasoning but was roused by the now apparent spirit of the people as a pillar of fire, which notwithstanding the darkness of the prospect would conduct to the promised land." The eventual resolution was based in large part on Henry's and passed unanimously on May 15, 1776. As well as declaring Virginia independent,

42813-403: Was returning, the Third Virginia Convention in August commissioned him as colonel of the 1st Virginia Regiment , and he took up the appointment later that month. Although Henry had little military experience, this was not considered a major drawback at the time, and he was held to have distinguished himself in the march on Williamsburg. General Washington, though, felt that the convention had "made

43026-448: Was scant. He passed in April 1760, and he thereafter opened a practice, appearing in the courts of Hanover and nearby counties. Henry became a skilled lawyer because in court "he displayed quick wit, knowledge of human nature, and forensic gifts." The droughts of the 1750s had led to a rise in the price of tobacco. Hard currency was scarce in Virginia, and salaries in the colony were often expressed in terms of pounds of tobacco. Prior to

43239-418: Was sent with 30 mounted men, along with some citizens of Kaskaskia, to secure Prairie du Rocher , St. Philippe , and Cahokia . The towns offered no resistance, and within 10 days more than 300 people had taken the American oath of allegiance. When Clark turned his attention to Vincennes , Father Gibault offered to help. On July 14, Gibault and a few companions set out on horseback for Vincennes. There, most of

43452-439: Was taken at face value. In the 1970s, historians began to question the authenticity of Wirt's reconstruction. Contemporary historians observe that Henry was known to have used fear of Indian and slave revolts in promoting military action against the British and that, according to the only written first-hand account of the speech, Henry used some graphic name-calling that Wirt did not include in his heroic rendition. Tucker's account

43665-399: Was taken ill almost immediately upon being sworn in as governor on July 5 and recuperated at Scotchtown. He returned to Williamsburg in September and corresponded with General Washington about the military situation. Washington, who was less effective because of the inadequacies of his troops, complained about the state militias, feeling a Continental Army committed for the duration of the war

43878-427: Was the best known of the anti-slavery novels that portrayed such escapes across the Ohio. The times have been expressed by 20th-century novelists as well, such as the Nobel Prize -winning Toni Morrison , whose novel Beloved was adapted as a film of the same name. She also composed the libretto for the opera Margaret Garner (2005), based on the life and trial of an enslaved woman who escaped with her family across

44091-408: Was the presiding judge. After the evidence was presented proving the facts at issue, Maury's counsel gave a speech in praise of the clergy, many of whom were in attendance. Henry responded with a one-hour speech, ignoring the question of damages, but which focused on the unconstitutionality of the veto of the Two Penny Act by the king's government. Henry deemed any king who annulled good laws, such as

44304-435: Was to be stationed on the Wabash River below Vincennes to prevent the British from escaping by water. Clark led his men across what is now the state of Illinois, a journey of about 180 miles (290 km). It was not a cold winter, but it rained frequently, and the plains were often covered with several inches of water. Provisions were carried on packhorses , supplemented by wild game the men shot as they traveled. They reached

44517-451: Was to retain his rank of colonel but was placed under a former subordinate. Henry refused and left the army; his troops were outraged by the slight to him and considered leaving service, but he calmed the situation. Henry did not sit in the Fourth Virginia Convention which met in December 1775, as he was ineligible because of his military commission. Once he was again a civilian, the freeholders of Hanover County in April 1776 elected him to

44730-405: Was trying to set himself up as dictator. In March 1777, Henry wrote to Washington seeking permission to recruit soldiers for terms of up to eight months. Washington's anger in his response that such troops were not useful caused Henry to drop the matter, stating that he deferred to Washington's experience in military matters. Recruiting remained a problem; many Virginians were willing to be members of

44943-415: Was tutored at home by his father. The young Henry engaged in the typical recreations of the times, such as music and dancing, and was particularly fond of hunting. Since the family's stock, considerable lands, and slaves would pass to his older half-brother John Syme Jr., due to the custom of primogeniture , Henry needed to make his own way in the world. At age 15, he became a clerk for a local merchant and

45156-461: Was under almost constant assault by white-led [Indian] raiding parties that had originated at Detroit." In 1777, George Rogers Clark was a 25-year-old major in the Kentucky County, Virginia , militia. Clark believed that he could end the raids on Kentucky by capturing the British posts in the Illinois Country and then moving against Detroit. In April 1777, Clark sent two spies into the Illinois country. They returned after two months and reported that

45369-522: Was wiser to remain silent. Henry belatedly arrived at the Congress on May 18, 1775. Jefferson later stated that Henry played only a supporting role, and though there is not a complete record, the fact that he was not written of as having an impact appears to confirm that. The Congress appointed Washington as head of American forces, an appointment that Henry supported. At the end of the session, in August, Henry left Philadelphia for Virginia and would never again hold office outside its borders. While Henry

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