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| Guide to Indiana's Historic Sites West Central Edition |
Westernmost Naval Battle of the Revolution
Location:
0.7 mile south of junction of SR 58 & US 41, between Old US 41/Earl J. Abe Rogers Road & new US 41, Carlisle. (Sullivan County, Indiana)
Installed by:
Erected by the Sullivan County Historical Society 1985
Marker ID #:
77.1985.1
Marker Text:
On 25 February 1779 Col. George Rogers Clark captured Ft. Sackville at Vincennes from the British. About 6 miles west at Pointe Coupee on the Wabash River on 2 March 1779 Capt. Leonard Helm commanding 3 boats and 50 volunteers from Vincennes captured a reinforcement fleet of 7 boats carrying 40 soldiers and valuable supplies and Indian trade goods. This small naval battle completed destruction of British military strength in the Wabash Valley.
Brief History by the Author
Colonel George Rogers Clark captured Vincennes from the British garrison that held it in July 1778. Clark left Captain Leonard Helm in charge of a militia force to hold the town. Clark departed with his main force to capture Cahokia and Caskaskia near the Mississippi River. After Clark departed most of the militia under Helm deserted, leaving Captain Helm with only a handful of men. Hearing that Vincennes was now in the hands of the Americans, British Lieutenant-Governor Henry Hamilton left Detroit and moved against Vincennes to recapture it. He succeeded in taking the post, making Helm and the remainder of his soldiers captives. Fur trader Francis Vigo visited the fort after Hamilton had captured it. Hamilton took him prisoner, and then released him after Vigo would not aid the Americans during his return trip. To honor the promise, Vigo returned to St. Louis. After his return, Vigo traveled to Kaskaskia, a distance of fifty miles, to inform Clark that the British held Vincennes.
Recapturing Vincennes
Clark responded by leading his 170 men through 180 miles of flooded countryside in eighteen days. In a surprise attack, Clark took Vincennes. Helm took an active part in the negotiations.
The Naval Battle
Clark learned that a shipment of supplies was due to come down the Wabash from Detroit. He dispatched Captain Leonard Helm with three boats and fifty men. The American force encountered the enemy at night by discerning the fires of the enemy in the darkness. Helm's men surrounded the British flotilla and captured it without firing a shot. The British supplies became American supplies. British power in the Western theatre was broken.
