1. 1779 The War in the West The War at Sea
George Rogers Clark statue in Louisville
John Paul Jones

2. Clark as painted by Matthew Harris Jouett in 1825
I. George Rogers Clark
Began exploring west in what is now Kentucky in 1772 (VA territory)
Became militia leader for small settlements formed in the region
Founded settlement later to be Louisville, KY (5/78)
Clarksville, In
Clark as painted by Matthew Harris Jouett in 1825

3. II. Clark’s War in the West
British had allied with native tribes and were raiding small American settlements
British General Henry “Hair Buyer” Hamilton was paying Indians to bring back colonial scalps
Clark devised a plan to raise an army and capture the British forts on the frontier
Captured Fort Kaskaskia (Illinois) in July of 1778 without firing a shot
On Mississippi River, near St. Louis
Marched 120 miles through rapids, swamp, forest to surprise British
Captured without firing a shot

4. III. Battle of Vincennes
February 23–25, 1779
Clark and 170 militiamen/French surround Fort Sackville in Vincennes, IN
British numbered approx. 100 including local French/natives

5. Battle of Vincennes continued
Clark and his men continued marching around the fort waving extra flags
Riflemen rapidly shot at the fort
Fooled British into thinking that they had 1000 men
Natives fled
Clark offered surrender, but British refused terms
Clark then tomahawked two captured natives in front of the fort
British General Hamilton would surrender on the 25th
The Fall of Fort Sackville
by Fredrick C. Yorn

6. IV. Conqueror of the Northwest
George Rogers Clark’s goal is to take Fort Detroit, the western British headquarters
He could never get enough men to attack
His raids on British forts in the Ohio Country, his occupation of the Illinois territory, and his capture of General Hamilton would all greatly weaken the British army in the west
“Conqueror of the Northwest”

7. V. The Battle at Sea
British had the strongest navy in the world and hundreds of ships at their disposal
Americans had 8 ships in 1776
Resorted to raiding individual ships

8. VI. John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones proved himself as the strongest of the new American sailors
Scottish captain who immigrated to Virginia in 1773 to escape the law
Captured Mellish in Lake Superior during Nov. 1776
Defeated HMS Drake off coast of Ireland on April 24th, 1778
First American naval victory in British Waters

9. VII. The Poor Richard
Jones was friends with Ben Franklin, who lobbied for the French to provide him with a new vessel
French were impressed, and in 1779, gave Jones a small fleet to command
He named his new ship the Bonhomme Richard, after Ben Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac

10. VIII. Battle of Flamborough Head - “I have not yet begun to fight!”
On September 23, 1779, Jones and his fleet engaged two British warships off the English coast
HMS Serapis vs. USS Bonomme Richard
The Serapis inflicted heavy damage to Jones’s ship
The Bonhomme Richard was on fire and sinking and her flag had been shot down
When asked if he was surrendering, Jones replied, “I have not yet begun to fight!”
The most famous American Naval victory of the war
He would ram the Serapis, lock the ships together, clear the decks with his sharpshooters, and force surrender within 3 hours just before his own ship sank

11. "Action Between the Serapis and Bonhomme Richard" - Richard Paton

12. “Father of the US Navy”
The marble and bronze sarcophagus of John Paul Jones at the USNA in Annapolis, MD is guarded by Midshipmen 24-hours a day, 365 days a year

13. IX. Spain Enters the War Spanish enter war as ally of France
Bernado de Galvéz
Governor of Spanish Louisiana
Closed Mississppi River to British
Conquered British Forts in the Mississippi valley and Florida