ey took the fort by stratagem. The
Indians, for the moment a greater danger than the British, were overawed
by the skill and the masterful personality of Clark; and the Creoles,
conciliated by his moderation, gladly joined in the capture of Cahokia.
Not until February, 1779, was the intrepid commander ready to march on
Vincennes. General Hamilton had recently come there with a small force,
and there he proposed to remain until spring before marching to the
recapture of Kaskaskia and the destruction of the settlements south of
the Ohio, never dreaming that men could be found to cross the "drowned
lands" of the Wabash in the inclement winter months. This fearful
challenge was what Clark and his men accepted; marching two hundred and
thirty miles over bogs and flooded lowlands; without tents, and
sometimes without food or fire; as they neared Vincennes breaking the
thin ice at every step, often neck-deep in water; yet succeeding at
last, they took the fort and sent Hamilton to Virginia a prisoner of
war. Detroit remained in British hands; but the possession of Vincennes
and the Mississippi forts probably saved the Kentucky and Tennessee
settlements from destruction, and doubtless had some influence in
disposing England to cede the Western country at the close of the war.

Yet in spite of this signal victory, in spite of the French alliance,
the darkest days of the war were yet to come. In the year 1780 the
Revolution seemed fallen from a struggle for worthy principles to the
level of mean reprisals, a contest of brigands bent on plunder and
revenge. That it had come to this pass was partly due to Clinton's
policy of detached raids; but the policy of raids was a practical one
precisely because in nearly every colony there was a large body of
active Loyalists, a larger number still who were indifferent, wishing
only to be left alone, ready to submit to whichever side might win at
last. Driven from their homes, plundered by British or patriot raiders,
they in turn organized for revenge, sought plunder where they could find
it, caring not whether they served under Loyalist or Revolutionist
banners. In South Carolina, laid waste by the light troops of Tarleton
and the partisans of Marion and Sumpter, in all the regions round New
York, in the Jerseys, on Long Island and in parts of Connecticut, even
the semblance of government and the customary routine of ordered society
disappeared. The issues that had once divided men were forg