Chapter 6 of the History of Southern Illinois

P. 61 LOUISIANA AND ILLINOIS (1732-1777)

ILLINOIS PRIOR TO THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR—

THE STRUGGLE FOR THE OHIO VALLEY—OLD FORT CHARTRES—

THE COMING OF THE BRITISH—ILLINOIS UNDER BRITISH RULE

By the proclamation of the king of France in 1732, Louisiana became a royal province, and was attached temporarily to New France for purposes of government. For thirty-two years France had been pouring men and money into the Mississippi valley; Crozat had spent a fortune. The Western Company had sent thousands of people into the territory and had spent money lavishly for supplies, soldiers, forts, transportation, and explorations. The government took up the work with some degree of spirit and began by separating the Louisiana province from New France, in governmental matters. The officers for Louisiana were a governor, an intendant, and a royal council. The governor was to appoint the commandant for the Illinois, At the time of this change in the government from that of the Western Company to that of royal oversight, St. Ange de Belle Rive was commandant in the Illinois. He was followed by Pierre D’ Artaguette, who seems to have assumed command in 1834, probably in the very early part of that year.

The settlements at the mouth of the Mississippi river and those in the Illinois country were separated from each other by hundreds of miles of territory whose only occupants were Indians. Kaskaskia was the farthest south of any of the settlements in Illinois, and Natchez was the farthest north of any of the settlements about the mouth of the Mississippi. From Natchez south down the river, settlements were scattering. The Natchez and the Chickasaw Indians occupied nearly all the territory adjacent to the Mississippi river, on the east, and south of the Ohio river. These Indians had been more or less troublesome to the commerce passing up and down the river. In 1729 a conspiracy was hatched by these Indians, and the Natchez fell upon the settlers at the town of Natchez (Fort Rosalie) and massacred the entire population. A vigorous campaign drove this tribe west of the Mississippi, where they were captured and sold as slaves in the West Indies.

After this summary disposal of the Natchez Indians, the Chickssaws became troublesome. The governor at New Orleans, felt it his duty to discipline them. He called on D‘Artaguette, commandant at Kaskaskia, and upon Francois Morgan de Vincenne, commandant at the Post Vincennes, for soldiers. Each furnished soldiers and some P. 62 Indians, and the combined force moved southward from the mouth of the Ohio. The force from the south under Bienville, and the one from the north under D‘Artaguette, were not timed so as to arrive at the Indian stronghold, at the same time. D‘Artaguette reached the scene of conflict first and in an unsuccessful assault many of his men were killed, and he and Vincenne and Father Senat fell into the hands of the Chickasaws, who, despairing of a large ransom from Bienville, took their distinguished prisoners out into an open field and there tortured them to death by a slow fire. Thus Illinois lost a brilliant leader and a score or more of valuable citizens. Not only so, but it took four years more of warfare to subdue the warlike Chickasaws. After 1739 there was comparative freedom in the navigation of the Mississippi river. The French and Indians north of the Ohio were on very good terms and the French settlements were growing rapidly. New settlements sprang up here and there on the Illinois and on the Wabash. Many of these settlements were not permanent, being engaged in the fur trade.

In 1744 war broke out between France and England and there was more or less friction between the French colonists in Canada and the English settlers in New York, and the New England colonists. This is called in this country, King George’s war. The quiet ongoing of affairs in the Louisiana territory was not disturbed by this conflict. The French and Indians west of the Alleghenies were on very good terms following the Natchez and Chickasaw war. Agriculture flourished, and commerce on the Mississippi was free from any restraints. Capital began to seek investments and population rapidly increased. “Illinois sent regular cargoes of flour, bacon, pork, hides, leather, tallow, bear’s oil, and lumber” to the markets of the world. The method of transportation was in keel boats and barges. The keel boats and barges returned up the river from New Orleans with consignments of rice, tobacco, indigo, sugar, cotton fabrics, and all kinds of European goods. The entire Louisiana country including the Illinois and the Wabash settlements was quite self-sustaining.

But while these settlements were free from the war, called King George‘s war, there were other drawbacks, In the fall of 1745, severe storms and inundations swept over the plantations of the lower Louisiana, destroying a large proportion of the crops. The nec crop was almost a total loss. Rice was used largely as a substitute for bread by the people of the lower Louisiana, and its loss would be greatly felt unless some other article could be substituted. The loss to the people about New Orleans was gain to the Illinois people for it made a market for their surplus wheat and flour. Monette, in Vol I, page 316, says as many as four thousand sacks of flour of 100 pounds each were shipped to New Orleans in the years 1745 and 1746. Reynolds says in his Pioneer History that the flour was sacked in deerskins.

From the coming of the Company of the West in 1718, to the French and Indian war, there was great growth in the Illinois country. It should be pointed out that what people then called “the Illinois” or the “Illinois Country,” was principally the territory which came to be known as the American Bottoms. This is a great body of alluvial land stretching from the present city of Alton to the city of Chester, lying between the Mississippi river and the “bluffs” on the east. The distance from Alton to Chester is about seventy-five miles on a straight P. 63 line, but probably one hundred and twenty-five miles by the river. The width of this alluvial plain is about six to eight miles. These bottoms are a rich alluvial deposit and are fairly well drained. In some places, however, there are lakes and bayous which render the land useless. Many of the lakes have been drained, and the land thus redeemed is very valuable. It was in these rich, alluvial bottoms that all the early French villages were located. The French had a system of granting their public lands very different from our system of rectangular surveys. We survey our lands and throw them into townships, sections and quarter sections, a rectangular system. Our lands are mapped and it is easy to locate sections or smaller units than the section.

The French system was virtually a system of strips abutting on the river and reaching back over the alluvial grounds to the ‘‘bluffs,” and even beyond. If one will examine the county maps of St. Claw, Monroe, and Randolph, he will find these grants laid down—the grants abutting on the river and extending in narrow strips back to the bluffs. In addition to these grants of the strips to individuals, there were grants made to each village known as the “Commons” or the “Common Lands.” This was a grant made to the community as a whole, and was used as common pasture lands and, when timbered, was used as the source of fuel. Such grants were made to Cahokia, Prairie du Pont, Prairie du Rocher, Kaskaskia and probably to New Chartres. These “Commons” or “Common Lands” must not be confused with “Common Fields.” The commons were were not cultivated, while the “Common Fields” were used for cultivation. The common field was laid off in strips, each of which, was assigned to a particular person for cultivation for the season; next season it was assigned to a different person. The whole of the common field was under one fence, but there were no partition fences. Wheat and corn were raised in large quantities, and there were mills for the grinding of these grains. Renault is said to have put up a water mill and a chapel in his village of St. Phillipe. The mill was for grinding and sawing. There were other water mills along the bluffs where corn and wheat were ground. Horse mills also were common.

Horses and cattle were introduced very early. Reynolds says the cattle came from Canada, while the horses were of the Arabian strain and were brought to the southwest by the Spaniards. It is not to be understood that the cultivation of the soil was of a very high order. Utensils were crude. The plows were wooden and were usually drawn by oxen. The oxen were fastened together by the horns by means of a flat piece of wood, and not yoked as was customary with the English settlers. The wagons were small two-wheel carts made by the farmers themselves, usually with little or no iron, and were pulled or pushed by hand, seldom by horses or oxen.

The crops were cultivated by slave labor and chiefly by hand. The French people were much given to the cultivation of small fruits and flowers. Cherry, apple, peach, and plum trees grew in each yard. Large beds of flowers were cultivated, and wild flowers were gathered in abundance. As late as 1825 when La Fayette visited Kaskaskia the French inhabitants searched the woods for wild flowers, and the banquet hall was literally filled with them. The houses were mainly built after one pattern. The ‘‘ground plan’’ was marked off by trenches in P. 64 which upright posts were set side by side in palisade style. The tops were sawed off of uniform height. On top of these posts the roof was placed constructed of simple frame work thatched with wild grasses, or in earlier years with the skins of animals, and in later years covered with boards. The spaces were filled in with mud and grasses, and later with mortar made from lime burned in the bluffs nearby. In later years these upright posts were set on timbers instead of being set in the ground, and there is one old house standing in old Brownville which was built that way. It was built as late as 1830 or 1840.

The religious life of this people was a simple faith in the priest and in his teachings. As has been said before there were no other faiths than that of the Roman Catholic church. There were no schools in the sense in which we know schools today. The instruction given was largely through the work of the priests. It is probable that many of those who were sufficiently educated to carry on business transactions were immigrants from Canada or from France direct. However, the college which is said to have flourished from 1721 to 1754 may have furnished a means for an education which met the demands of those days. It is certain that the great mass of people were ignorant though kind and considerate.

The Illinois country, as has been shown, included Vincennes and other settlements on the Wabash. Vincennes is said to have been founded as early as 1702 by Francois Morgan de Vincenne. It was the fourth in the line of forts reaching from the lakes to the Mississippi by way of the Wabash. The first of these forts was constructed at Detroit in 1701. The second at the junction of the St. Joseph with the Miami where the city of Fort Wayne is today. A third fort was located about seven miles below the present city of La Fayette and was called Ontanon. The fourth was located where the present city of Vincennes is. This fort was known as Fort Sackville and the town as Post Vincent. A fifth was built on the Ohio a few miles below the mouth of the Tennessee and the fort came to be called Fort Massac. This last fort was built about 1711 or 1712. However, it is claimed that the building of the fort was, as early as 1702. There was probably a mission post there as early as 1702 planted by Father Mermet, and was known as the Assumption. By glancing at the map one may see what an excellent water route was accessible from the lakes to the Mississippi by way of the Wabash. Little is known of Post Vincennes and of Fort Massac prior to the French and lndian war. They were doubtless visited by the French as they passed between the lakes and the gulf via the Wabash.

THE STRUGGLE FOR THE OHIO VALLEY

King George’s war which had its origin in European political complications closed in 1748. The treaty which closed the war provided for the return of Louisburg to the French, and all other possessions of England and France in America to remain as they were prior to the war. It could easily be seen that the next struggle between the French and the English would be for the permanent control of the Ohio valley and the adjacent territory east of the Mississippi river. The English had never relaxed in their determination to possess the Ohio valley. In 1748 a treaty known as the Treaty P. 65 of Lancaster was made at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, between English commissioners and three Indian chiefs representing twelve towns in the vicinity of the Wabash. The purpose of the treaty was to attack the Indians north of the Ohio to the English cause. The Ohio Land Company was formed in 1748. It contained residents of England and Virginia. It received from King George II a grant of a half million acres of land on and about, the Ohio river. They were given the exclusive right of trading with the Indians in that region.

In 1749 the governor general of Canada sent Louis Celeron, a knight of the Military Order of St. Louis, to plant lead plates along the valley of the Ohio which might eventually prove French priority of occupation of this territory. Several of the plates were afterward unearthed. In 1750 Celeron wrote a letter to the governor of Pennsylvania warning him of the danger to his people who might trespass upon the French possessions along the Ohio. In 1752 agents of the Ohio Company established a trading post within a few miles of the present site of Piqua, Ohio. In the same year the French and Indian allies destroyed this post, killing fourteen Twightwees Indians, who were under a treaty with the English. Logstown, about 18 miles below the forks of the Ohio, was settled in 1748 by the English and in 1752 a treaty was made there in which the Indians ceded certain rights and privileges to the English.

The French began in 1753 to build a line of forts from the lakes to the Mississippi by way of the Ohio and its tributaries from the north. The first fort was located at Presque Isle (now Erie, Pennsylvania); the second one was Fort Le Boeuf on French Creek, a branch of the Alleghany. The third was called Venango at the mouth of the French Creek. From here they pushed south and found some Englishmen building a fort at the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela. The French drove the Englishmen from the place and finished the fort and named it Fort Du Quesne. This was the fourth fortification in the line of forts reaching from the lakes to the Mississippi river. The French and Indian war was now fairly begun and we shall return to the Illinois to see what part this region was to play in this final contest for supremacy between the two great old world powers.

We have called attention to the activity of the French in building forts on the upper Ohio to secure that region from the English. The same activity marked their preparations in the west for the impending struggle. Fort Chartres had been originally of wood. There never were many soldiers stationed there at any time—only a few score soldiers and officers, but following King George’s war it was decided to rebuilt Fort Chartres on a large scale. Many descriptions have been written of this charming historic spot, and many noted travelers have visited its ruins but the author takes great pleasure in presenting a sketch written by the Hon. H. C. Voris, publisher of The Waterloo Republican. Mr. Voris has lived in the vicinity of the old fort for many years and possesses a familiarity with its history and its tradition which peculiarly fits him to write its history. I take pleasure therefore in presenting in section three of this chapter the sketch which Editor Voris has so kindly prepared. P. 66

OLD FORT CHARTRES

Fort Chartres is by far the most interesting and most important historic point in Illinois, perhaps in the Mississippi valley. It is in a class by itself. In its time it was the strongest fort in America. It was the capital of two mighty powers, the center of western civilization, the Mecca of the West. Passing from control of the Indians, Illinois was claimed by Spain, occupied by France, conquered by England, then passed to the Americans under George Rogers Clark with the capture of Kaskaskia. The French, English, and American flags successively floated at this ancient citadel.

While all other works of the pioneers have suffered decay, and there remains nothing but the sites on which they stood, the ruins of Fort Chartres are still well defined, and the old powder magazine is still intact, apparently preserved by the very reverence which the surroundings and traditions of the place seem to inspire.

Fort Chartres is situated in the northern portion of Randolph county, near the Mississippi, and not far from the Monroe county line. In fact the settlement which grew up about the fort was principally in Monroe county. And the foodstuffs which supplied the fort, and upon which the French drew in the French and Indian war, were produced in Monroe, on what is now known as the Renault grant.

The strategic point of Fort Chartres was first recognized by the great La Salle. He impressed the ministers of Louis XIV of the importance of establishing a string of forts from Quebec down through the Mississippi valley, thus early recognizing the fact that this portion of country was destined to become populous and valuable.

This territory was embraced in the Florida country and claimed by Spain by right of discovery. The claims of France were based upon the explorations of La Salle. The English then were east of the Alleghenies, but were gradually pushing westward. The early French explorers were first to discover the great resources of the valley, its rich trade in furs and minerals, and agricultural productions. The shrewd French traders early saw the clash which was inevitable from the Spanish then at Santa Fe, and the English on the east.

For protection against these two future foes it was determined to erect a fort, and Pierre Duque Boisbriant, a cousin of Bienville, then governor of Louisiana, was sent with his commission as commandant of the Illinois. He arrived in Mobile February 9, 1718.

In October of 1718 he arrived in the Illinois country, stopping at Kaskaskia. He determined upon a site sixteen miles above Kaskaskia, midway between Kaskaskia and Cahokia, and the same winter began work upon the fort.

Fort Chartres was completed in 1720, and the banner of France was flung to the breeze. This log fort protected within its walls the barracks and commandant’s house, storehouse of the India Company, and magazines. It was named in honor of Due de Chartres, son of the Regent.

One of the first arrivals after the completion of the log fort was Philip Francois Renault, a banker of Paris, and director-general of the mines of the India Company. He brought with him about 250 miners, and several slaves from St. Domingo. The present colored population of Prairie du Rocher are descendants of the Renault slaves. Thus was slavery introduced into Illinois. P. 67

The fort was scarcely finished when Boisbriant was apprised of a contemplated attack by the Spaniards from Mexico. This force, however, was annihilated by the Pawnees, the chaplain of the expedition alone escaping. This account of the expedition was given to Father Charlevoix at Green Bay by two Indian chiefs.

Father Charlevoix was traveling through the valley. With him was a young Canadian escort, Jean St. Ange de Belle Rive, who later became commander of the fort.

The village which grew up about the fort became the parish of Ste. Anne de Fort Chartres.

The Provincial Council of the Illinois consisted of the governorgeneral, Boisbriant; civil officer, Marc Antoine de la Loire des Ursins, also principal director of the India Company; and Michel Chassin, commissary for the company. This council dispensed justice, regulated titles, and established the court which prevailed for forty years. They executed the grants upon which many titles rest to this day.

One of their largest grants was made in 1723 to Philip Renault, consisting of a piece of land in Monroe county, one league along the river and two leagues inland. This tract lies just north of the fort. It was intended by Renault to furnish provisions for his men at the mines. (This grant was never conveyed by Renault, and for many years was marked upon the map as the property of Philip Renault heirs.) From Indian tradition much mineral wealth was believed to be in what is now Monroe county, and local tradition substantiates such views as to lead. Silver creek derives its name from reported silver mines along its banks. Many efforts have been made to locate the lost lead mine in the bluffs of Monroe, but all have proved futile. Traces of gold have been found in Prairie du Long precinct, and tradition weaves an interesting story, the same traditions, perhaps, that lured Renault.

In 1728 the troops at Fort Chartres were called upon to repel the Foxes, a tribe of Indians who had become very troublesome.

In 1729 Governor St. Ange purchased a tract of land near the fort from an Indian named Chicago.

In 1734 the Chickasaws became offensive, and Bienville resolved to crush them. De Coulanges was sent to Fort Chartres with a supply of ammunition. But he disobeyed orders and transported merchandise, leaving the powder at the Arkansas. For this he was imprisoned six months at the fort. In February, D ‘Artaguiette, who had succeeded St.Ange, sailed down the river with his troops, together with all the Kaskaskia Indians, and a flock of Indian warriors as far away as Detroit, led by Chief Chicago. The troops reached the Chickasaw villages, but the soldiers from New Orleans failed to arrive, and the Frenchmen were defeated by the Chickasaws. D‘Artaguiette, young St. Ange, Vincenne and many others were burned at the stake.

After the death of D ‘Artaguiette, La Buisoniere succeeded him as commandant of Illinois. These were the brightest days of Fort Chartres. He kept peace with the Indians, developed agriculture, and extended trade. He sent two convoys each year to New Orleans, loaded with the produce of the vicinity. The smaller villages of Prairie du Rocher and St. Phillipe sprang up in the vicinity. Boisbriant conveyed much of his land to his nephew Langlois, and he in turn to others. Descendants of the elder Langlois still reside at Prairie du Rocher. St. Phillipe was established upon the Renault grant by Philip Renault, and became a thriving P. 68 village. Renault made his last conveyance of a lot at St. Phillipe in 1740, and returned to Paris.

Chevalier de Bertel became major-commandant in 1743, succeeding La Buissoniere. Affairs at the fort were becoming gloomy. France and England were at war. The Indians had been won over to the English, and had greed to destroy the fort at the falling of the leaves. De Bertel appealed to the governor of Canada, Marquis de Galissoniere, who became impressed with the necessity of holding the fort. His memorial to the French government was so strong that the king sacrificed much of his private fortune for its support. The treaty of Aix la Chapelle saved the fort, and gave them time to recuperate.

Recognizing the importance of the post, the French government in 1750 sent Chevalier Makarty, a major of engineers, and a few companies of troops to rebuild the citadel of Illinois. Other detachments followed until nearly a full regiment was quartered there. Benoist St. Clair had succeeded Bertel as commandant.

The old fort had been hastily constructed of wood. The new fort was to be of stone. It was planned and constructed by Lieutenant Jean B. Saussier, a French engineer, whose descendants lived in Cahokia many years, one of whom, Dr. John Snyder, now lives in Virginia, Cass county, Illinois. When completed it was the finest and most costly fort in America. The cost of its construction was about $1,500,000, and it seriously embarrassed the French exchequer. Makarty evidently drew his inspiration from the temple of King Solomon. The stones were hewn, squared, and numbered in the quarries in the bluff just opposite, about four miles distant, and conveyed across the lake to the fort in boats. The massive stone walls enclosed about four acres. They were 18 feet high and about two feet thick. The gateway was arched, and 15 feet high; a cut-stone platform was above the gate with a stair of ninetecir steps and balustrade leading to it; there were four bastions, each with forty-eight loopholes, eight embrasures, and a sentry box, all in cut stone. Within the walls stood the store house, 90 feet long, 30 wide, two stories high; the guard house with two rooms above for chapel and missionary quarters; the government house, 84x32, with iron gates and a, stone porch; a coach house, pigeon house, and large well walled up with the finest of dressed rock; the intendant’s house; two rows of barracks, each 128 feet long; the magazine, which is still standing and well preserved 35x38 and 13 feet high; bake ovens; four prison cells of cut stone; one large relief gate on the north. Such was the pride of the French empire, and the capital of New France.

The fort was scarcely completed when the French and Indian war broke out. In May of 1754 George Washington and his Virginia riflemen surprised the French at Great Meadows, where Jumonville, the French commander, was killed. A brother of the slain French commander, who was stationed at Fort Chartres, secured leave from Makarty to avenge his death. Taking his company with him they proceeded to Fort Duquesne, and there gathering up some friendly Indians they attacked Washington at Fort Necessity, which was surrendered on July 4. This was the real beginning of the old French war. Flushed with victory, the little detachment returned to Fort Chartres, and celebrated the triumph of Illinois over Virginia.

In the French and Indian war the demand upon Makarty at Fort Chartres for men and provisions became incessant. In fact, Fort Chartres P. 69 became the principal base of supplies in the west. In 1755, Captain Aubry was sent to reinforce Fort Duquesne with 400 men. The fort held out for some time, but later Colonel Washington compelled its abandonment.

The power of the French began to wane. They maintained the struggle gallantly, however, and made one more desperate effort to raise the siege of Fort Niagara. They failed. The sower of Fort Chartres went down at Niagara. The surrender of Canada soon followed, but Fort Chartres still held out for the French king. (After the rebuilding of the fort the place became known as New Chartres.) They hoped that they would still be considered with Louisiana, and remain in French territory. Their disappointment was bitter when they learned that on February 10, 1763, Louis XV had ratified the treaty transferring them to Great Britain.

While the French at Fort Chartres were waiting for a British force to come to take possession, Pierre Laclede arrived from New Orleans to settle at the Illinois, bringing with him a company representing merchants engaged in the fur trade. Learning of the treaty of cession he decided to establish his post on the west side of the Mississippi, which he still believed to be French soil. He selected a fine bluff sixty miles north of Fort Chartres for the site of his post, and returned for the winter. In the spring he began his colony, and was enthusiastic over its prospects. Many of the French families followed him, wishing to remain under the French flag. Their disappointment was still more bitter when they learned that all the French possessions west of the Mississippi had been ceded to Spain. This is now St. Louis.

The elder St. Ange, who had been at Vincennes, returned to take part in the last act. Though the territory had been transferred to King George, the white flag of the Bourbons continued to fly at Fort Chartres, the last place in America. The Indian chief Pontiac, was another power not taken into confidence at the treaty. Pontiac loved the French, but detested the English. When the English companies under Loftus, Pitman, and Morris, respectively came to take possession, each was balked by the wily red man. Chief Pontiac gathered an army of red men and proceeded to Fort Chartres where he met St. Ange, and boldly proposed to assist him in repelling the English. St. Ange plainly told him that all was over, and advised him to make peace with the English. Fort Chartres was finally surrendered to Captain Stirling on October 10, 1765. The red cross of St. George replaced the Lilies of France. St. Ange and his men took a boat for St. Louis, and there enrolled in the garrison under the Spanish, which St. Ange was appointed to command.

The first court of law was established at Fort Chartres in December, 1768, Fort Chartres becoming the capital of the British province west of the Alleghenies. Colonel Wilkins had assumed command under a proclamation from General Gage, and with seven judges sat at Fort Chartres to administer the law of England. After the surrender by the French the church records were removed to Kaskaskia. The records of the old French court were also removed there. A constant warfare had been kept up by the Indians, until Pontiac was killed near Cahokia by an Illinois Indian. Pontiac’s warriors pursued the Illinois tribe to the walls of Fort Chartres, where many of them were slain, the British refusing to assist them. St. Ange recovered the body of P. 70 Pontiac, and it was buried on the spot now occupied by the Southern Hotel in St. Louis, a memorial plate marking the place.

In 1772 high water swept away one of the bastions, and a part of the western wall of Fort Chartres. The British took refuge at Kaskaskia, and the fort was never occupied again. Congress, in 1778, reserved to the government a tract one mile square, of which the fort was the center. But this reservation was opened to entry in 1849, no provision being made for the fort. Governor Reynolds visited the place in 1802. He says: “It is an object of antiquarian curiosity. The trees, undergrowth and brush are mixed and interwoven with the old walls. It presented the most striking contrast between a savage wilderness, filled with wild beasts and reptiles, and the remains of one of the largest and strongest fortifications on the continent. Large trees were growing in the houses which once contained the elegant and accomplished French officers and soldiers.”

Judge Brackenridge of the United States District of Louisiana, in 1811, says: “Fort Chartres is a noble ruin, and is visited by strangers as a great curiosity. The outward wall, barracks and magazine are still standing. There are a number of cannon lying half buried in the earth, with their trunnions broken off.”

Hall, in his Romance of the West in 1829, says: “It was with difficulty that we found the ruins, which are covered with a vigorous growth of forest trees. The buildings were all razed to the ground, but the lines of the foundations could be easily traced. A large vaulted powder magazine remained in good preservation. And it was curious to see in the gloom of a wild forest these remnants of the architecture of a past age.”

It is a pleasant drive from Waterloo to the ruins. The twenty miles take you along one of the most productive ridges of the valley for part of the way, after which a turn is made into the bluffs and the “big spring” is passed which was the stopping place for the early travelers on their way from Kaskaskia and Fort Chartres to Cahokia. From a distance, after getting into the bottom, the bluffs present as pretty a picture as do the famed palisades of the Hudson, or the beautiful valley of the Ohio. And, suddenly, you descend a little knoll, and find yourself at once in Prairie du Rocher. Here are the descendants of the French of Fort Chartres, who chose to stay rather than to follow St. Ange to St. Louis. Here is the typical French village, where all is sunshine and flowers, where love and piety prevail, where the very atmosphere seems inspired with French accents of the past. Three chalices and a monstrance, and a tabernacle of inlaid wood, all from the church of Ste. Anne of Fort Chartres, are preserved in the church of St. Joseph in Prairie du Rocher. Three miles due west lie the ruins of the old fort. It was the writer’s pleasure to visit this spot with Father Krewet in 1886, when he was in charge of the parish.

All roads formerly lead to Fort Chartres. Now it takes diligent inquiry to find the place. It lies about a quarter of a mile from the public highway, completely obscured by the growth of underbrush which surrounds it. Upon arriving at the spot the old magazine stands out proudly and reverently, connecting the two centuries past with the present. The very ground seems hallowed. The songs of the birds seem sacred. And the lover of history gazes in awe and silence upon the ruins of the past, which almost two centuries ago, teemed with life. P. 71

This was the Paris of America, where the gallant French officers in gold and glitter danced with ladies attired in the latest fashions of France.

The old gateway of carved stone may yet be traced. One of the corner bastions is still fairly well defined. One angle of the wall still remains, and for many years served as a foundation for a barn built within these sacred precincts. The well is still there, walled with its cut stone, and until recently contained good, pure water, in decided contrast to the ordinary well near the river.

The old walls have been destroyed by the ruthless hands of ignorance, and the lapse of time. The dressed stones have been hauled away and now form the foundations of many houses and barns between the old fort and Kaskaskia.

Fate has been kind to the magazine. Its walls built of carefully dressed and fitted stones,

POWDER MAGAZINE OF OLD FORT CHARTRES

and its arched roof, have defied the elements, and so far have escaped the unsparing hand of barbarous force.

The cannon which bristled proudly in the halcyon days have long since disappeared, having been removed to Fort Russell (now Edwardsville), which was the principal base of operations in the west in the War of 1812, and to Fort Jefferson, some miles below Cairo, in Kentucky.

The villages of Ste. Anne and St. Phillipe have also disappeared. St. Phillipe is now a farm, but to this day a part of the road at the bluffs and a portion of the field is known as King’s Highway, and marks the road which Renault traveled in his zenith.

The old magazine, now covered with moss and vines, is indeed an object picturesque and venerable. It is by far the most interesting ruin of Colonial days. At the session of the legislature in 1911, a bill was introduced, appropriating a sum of money with which to purchase the site and convert it into a state park. It was a most worthy cause. And it is hoped that some action will yet be taken to preserve the old magazine and preserve the site before it is too late. P. 72

OUTLINE PLAN OF OLD FORT CHARTRES ON MISSISSIPPI
DRAWN FROM A SURVEY MADE IN 1820 BY NICHOLAS HANSEN AND LEWIS C. BECK

Survey by N. Hansen and L. C. Beck, in 1820.

Scale 125 ft. to inch. -

A A A Exterior wall, 1,447 feet.

B Gate.

C Small gate.

D D Two houses occupied by commandant and commissary, each 96x30 feet.

E Well.

F Magazine.

GG GG Barracks, 135x36 feet.

H H Store house and guard house, 90x24 feet.

I Small magazine.

K Furnace.

L L L Ravine, filled with water in spring.

Area of fort about four square acres.

THE COMING OF THE BRITISH

The treaty which closed the French and Indian war was signed at Paris February 10, 1763. It was known when Quebec fell that the territory west of the Alleghenies would eventually come into possession of the English. It was a great trial for the Indians around the great lakes and in the Mississippi valley to transfer their allegiance from the king P. 73 of France to the king of England. The Indians claimed that they were independent nations and that they had not had a voice in the treaty and they therefore felt that their interests had been neglected by the treaty-making powers. There were specific provisions for the transfer of the French settlers from the control of France to the oversight of England, but nothing was said affecting the interests and oversight and control of the Indians. When England began the work of taking possession of this western territory, the Indians under the leadership of Pontiac began a series of counter movements which delayed the coming of the British. The flag of Great Britain was promptly raised over Fort Pitt, Niagara, Detroit, Green Bay, St. Joseph, Mackinaw and other points. There were only three things for the Indians to do—leave the territory for lands west of the Mississippi river, enter into some form of treaty relations with Great Britain and remain on their old lands, or oppose by force of arms the spread of English control in the west. “Their nature, courage, and love of independence, sustained by the justness of their cause, prompted them to adopt the last alternative.”

The King of England in order to allay as far as possible the feelings of the Indians, issued a proclamation in 1763 in which he set apart the “Indian Country,” which included all the territory west of the Alleghenies, east of the Mississippi, north of the Floridas and south of the great lakes. He ordered that no governors of the English colonies on the Atlantic seaboard should make any grants of lands west of the Alleghenies. He also forbade any transfers or grants of lands by the Indians themselves. Notwithstanding this proclamation the surveyors were busy locating tracts which had been previously granted, and so far as the Indians were concerned or could see there was little attention paid to the king’s proclamation.

All that was needed for an Indian uprising was to find some one who could crystallize the resentment and distrust of the Indians. Such a person was found in the great Pontiac a chief of the Ottawas. He is said to have had French blood in his veins and to have taken a pledge of undying hatred toward the British. He had been prominent in the Indian wars since 1744. He was a man of talent, courage, and integrity. He could not be pacified after the fall of Quebec, and saw more clearly than any one else the doom of the Red Man’s reign in the great northwest. He acted without delay and by the middle of the summer of 1763 had a well organized opposition to the westward movement of British military forces. A dozen English posts and forts were captured by the Indians and their garrisons put to the sword or the tomahawk, and their houses to the flames. Some of the stronger forts withstood sieges that have become historic.

It is not within the scope of this work to go greatly into the detail of this matter, but we desire merely to get a background for other historic events that do fall within our province.

The first effort of the British forces to reach Fort Chartres with a garrison was an expedition in command of Major Loftus. He was turned back by an attack on the Mississippi river, below the mouth of the Ohio. The second effort was by Capt. Morris sent from Detroit. Pontiac met him and after an interview, Capt. Morris returned. The third expedition was headed by Lieut. Frazer who came from Fort Pitt. He reached Kaskaskia, but was there met by Pontiac and put in a boat and sent to P. 74 New Orleans. The fourth effort was by George Crogan who with a small detachment was intercepted at Shawneetown and after many trying situations was enabled to come to an understanding with Pontiac relative to the occupation of the Mississippi valley by the British troops. The fifth and final expedition was sent from Fort Pitt in the autumn of 1765. It was commanded by Capt. Stirling and consisted of 120 Highlanders from the Forty-second regiment. They reached Fort Chartres in due time, and when the Lilies of France had been lowered by the temporary commandant, St. Ange De Belle Rive, the cross of St. George was raised over the ramparts of old Fort Chartres, and the Illinois Indians passed under the dominion of the British government. The death of Pontiac has been mentioned and we need not repeat it here.

ILLINOIS UNDER BRITISH RULE

At the time of the coming of Capt. Stirling in 1765, Gen. Thomas Gage was in command of his majesty’s forces in North America. He issued a proclamation which Capt. Stirling made known when he reached the Illinois Country which was as follows:

A PROCLAMATION

Whereas, by the peace concluded at Paris on the 10th of February, 1763, the country of the Illinois has been ceded to his Brittanic majesty, and the taking possession of the said country of Illinois by the troops of his majesty, though long delayed, has been determined upon, we have found it good to make known to the Inhabitants—

That his majesty grants to the inhabitants of the Illinois the liberty of the Catholic religion, as it has already been granted to his subjects in Canada; he has consequently given the most precise and effective orders, to the end that his new Roman Catholic subjects of the Illinois may exercise the worship of their religion, according to the rites of the Roman church, in the same manner as in Canada.

That his majesty, moreover, agrees that the French inhabitants, or others, who have been subjects of the most Christian King, may retire, in full safety and freedom, whenever they please, even to New Orleans, or any other part of Louisiana although it should happen that the Spaniards take possession of it in the name of his Catholic majesty; and they may sell their estates, provided it be to subjects of his majesty, and transport their effects, as well as their persons, without restraint upon their emigration, under any pretense whatever, except in consequence of debts or of criminal process.

That those who choose to retain their lands and become subjects of his majesty, shall enjoy the same rights and privileges, the same security for their persons and effects, and likely of trade, as the old subjects of the King.

That they are commanded by these presents, to take the oath of fidelity and obedience to his majesty, in presence of Sleur Stirling, captain of the Highland regiment, the bearer hereof, and furnished with our full powers for this purpose.

That we recommend forcibly to the inhabitants, to conduct themselves like good and faithful subjects, avoiding by a wise and prudent demeanor all cause of complaint against them.

That they act in concert with his majesty’s officers, so that his troops may take peaceable possession of all the posts, and order be kept in the country; by this means alone they will spare his majesty the necessity of recurring to force of arms, and will find themselves saved from the scourge of bloody war, and of all evils which the march of an army into their country would draw after it.

We direct that these presents be read, published, and posted up in the usual places.

Done and given at Headquarters, New York. Signed with our hand, sealed with our seal at arms, and countersigned by our Secretary, this 30th of December, 1764.

THOMAS GAGE, [L. S.]
By His Excellency,

G. Maturin P. 75

Gloom settled over the inhabitants, and everywhere there were preparations for leaving the Illinois country. It is said by Mason in his “Chapters on Illinois History” that with the departure of French authority from Fort Chartres the life in the village of New Chartres went out. In the register then in use of the church of Ste. Anne was this entry: “The above-mentioned church having been abolished the rest of the paper which was in this book has been taken for the service of the church at Kaskaskia.” It was indeed a sad occasion for the French inhabitants. Here they had built up a little inland empire; they had contributed of their treasure and blood to save it from their old enemy, and now they have become subjects of that same enemy. “A large portion of the population departed with their sovereign's power. The old roof trees which had so long sheltered them, the gardens they had planted, the grass plots they had embellished, the fields, trees, and shrubbery nurtured, the fields they had cultivated, the old church in which they and their sires before them had been baptized and married, the ashes of their nearest and their dearest kindred lying near it, every hallowed spot, every object around which their warm affections entwined their strongest tendrils, all were abandoned rather than by remaining they should acknowledge fealty to a monarch they did not love, respect for laws they did not understand, and reverence for a church whose creed and forms and ministers had not their confidence and attachment.”

The officer in command of the post at Fort Chartres was known as the commandant of the Illinois territory. The following is a list of those British officers who served in that capacity:

Captain Thomas Stirling	1765
Major Robert Farmer	1765-1766
Colonel Edward Cole	1766-1768
Colonel John Reed	1768-1768
Lieut. Col. John Wilkins	1768-1771
Captain Hugh Lord	1771-1775
Captain Matthew Johnson	1775-1776
Chevalier de Rocheblave	1776-1778

There is some confusion in the old histories as to the order and the dates of the above list of commandants, but it is believed the list is quite correct.

The above named officers were primarily military commandants, but they exercised all the governmental authority that was in force in the territory—or at least the earlier commandants did so. The inhabitants were very loud in their condemnation of the oppressions of the military commandants, and they frequently made complaints to those in authority but with no relief. These complaints must have eventually borne fruit, for upon the coming of Colonel Wilkins as commandant in 1768, he brought an order from his superior for the establishment of a civil court.

Colonel Wilkins therefore issued his proclamation creating a civil administration of the laws of the country. He appointed seven judges who should hold court for the adjustment of civil cases. These judges held the first court at Fort Chartres, December the 8th, 1768. The law in force was the common law of England. Trial by jury was one feature of the administration of justice. The French inhabitants had P. 76 never been accustomed to this system and they complained long and loud about the jury system. It was difficult for the Frenchman to understand how there could be any justice meted out to those who sought relief in the courts, by a jury of twelve men many of whom could not read and write and of course had no technical knowledge of the English law. But the government was obstinate and gave the inhabitants no relief. The French inhabitants of the Illinois country therefore kept their contentions out of the courts and there was little for the courts to do. This system continued till the Revolutionary war.

The civil administration of justice in the Illinois country remained in force till by act of the British government the whole of the Illinois country was thrown into the Province of Quebec. This was done by the passage of the Quebec Act in 1774. It has been affirmed that this act was intended to conciliate the French Canadians whose help the king saw he must have in the approaching struggle. The constant appeals of the French inhabitants of Illinois for relief from the unbearable civil system may have been another reason, and a third may have been to dissuade the English colonists on the Atlantic coast from opening up the interior to settlement, for by the terms of the Quebec Act the Catholic religion was virtually established in the Illinois country.

The passage of this Quebec Act was regarded by the English colonists in America as one of the acts of Great Britain which justified the thirteen colonists in revolting, In the Declaration of Independence we find the complaint— For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province (the Illinois country) establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies.

In the Proclamation of 1763, King George III expressly stated that no transfers of land should be made by any one within the limits of the Indian country, and settlements in this country if not directly prohibited were discouraged. However, while Colonel Wilkins was commandant he made extensive grants of land to his friends, he himself being interested in the grants. These grants were afterward confirmed by the United States government.

It was difficult to understand why the king should forbid his subjects to settle west of the Alleghenies. One explanation was that above referred to—an attempt to pacify the Indians. This proclamation was by and with the consent of the king’s ministers. The English along the Atlantic coast were very earnest in their requests, as individuals and companies, to have the privilege of settling in this “Indian Country.” To all these overtures, the British ministry turned a deaf ear. In later years two definite and plausible reasons were assigned for the action of the king and his ministers. One by General Gage is as follows: ‘‘As to increasing the settlement (northwest of the Ohio) to respectable provinces. I conceive it altogether inconsistent with sound policy, In the course of a few years necessity would force them to provide manufactures of some kind for themselves, and when all connection upheld by commerce with the northern country shall cease, it may be expected that an independency in her government will soon follow.” The governor of Georgia wrote the Lords of Trade to the same effect. P. 77

He said: “If a vast territory be granted to any set of gentlemen who really mean to people it, and actually do so, it must draw and carry out a great number of people from Great Britain, and I apprehend they will soon become a kind of separate and independent people, who will set up for themselves, and they will soon have manufactures of their own, and in process of time they will soon become formidable enough to oppose his majesty’s authority.”

In 1765, October 25, the king, George III, sent a letter of instruction to John Penn, Esquire, governor of Pennsylvania, calling his attention to the reports of settlements west of the Alleghenies by citizens of Penn’s colony and of Virginia. He ordered Penn to use his utmost power to prevent settlements in this western country. Notwithstanding this effort of the king to keep settlers out of this territory west of the Alleghenies, there was, following the close of the French and Indian war, a constant stream of huYiters, ?? explorers, and adventurers moving through the gaps in the mountains into what is now the states of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

As early as 1747 Dr. Walker of Virginia led an exploring party into eastern Kentucky and named its principal stream Cumberland, after the Duke of Cumberland, the youngest son of George the II. John Finley of North Carolina and some companions visited the southeast part of Kentucky in 1767. Daniel Boone in company with John Finley, John Stewart and three other men, visited the territory of Kentucky in 1769. In this same year a band of forty hunters from the head waters of the Holston and Clinch in western Virginia explored nearly all of central Kentucky, and were gone so long that upon their return they were called the “Long Hunters.”

The British government had given land warrants to many who had served in the French and Indian war, and many of these claims were surveyed and located on the south side of the Ohio in 1772 and 1773. Two noted surveyors, Thomas Bullitt and Hancock Taylor engaged in locating and surveying these claims. James Douglas, another surveyor, located claims on the Ohio in the vicinity of Louisville. Col. John Floyd and Simon Kenton together with others came into Kentucky about 1774. They built a cabin where the town of Washington, Mason county, now stands. One of their number, a Mr. Henderson, was burned at the stake by Indians at this point. The McAfees settled on a 600 acre tract where Frankfort now stands July 16, 1773.

During the summer of 1774 James Harrod built Harrodsburg or Harrod’s Town. Daniel Boone was engaged to open a road into the country south of the Kentucky river, and it was while opening this road that Boone built the first fort, June 14, 1775. The fort was above Harrod’s Town and on the south side of the Kentucky river.

In the fall of 1775 Hugh McGary, Richard Hogan, Thomas Denton, with their wives, and a party of some thirty more settlers, joined Daniel Boone in Powell’s Valley just east of Cumberland Gap and after many hardships and dangers arrived at Boonesboro and these were the first families to settle in Kentucky.

There were in Kentucky in the fall of 1775 three hundred people mostly men. Two hundred and thirty acres were under cultivation. A half million acres of land had been granted by the “Proprietors of the Colony of Transylvania in America.” In the summer of 1775. P. 78

George Rogers Clark, a soldier in the Dunmore wars, arrived at Harrodsburg, where he found much unrest about the ownership of the territory south of Kentucky river. A meeting was held at Harrodsburg June 6, 1776, at which Clark and Gabriel Jones were chosen to go to Williamsburg, Va., and ask to be seated as representatives of Kentucky county. The legislature had adjourned before they reached Williamsburg, and Clark visited Patrick Henry, the governor, then ill at his home.

Clark explained the relation of the Kentucky settlers to the state of Virginia, and their danger from the Indians. Five hundred pounds of powder were ordered sent to Fort Pitt to await the order of Clark. Jones and Clark attended the fall session of the Virginia legislature and while not seated as delegates, they got a hearing and eventually got Kentucky organized. Clark was back in Harrodsburg in the summer of 1777 and assisted in the defense of that place against an attack by the Indians. Clark now believed that the vicious attacks upon the people of Kentucky by the Indians were instigated by the British, who were at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Vincennes, and Detroit, and he evolved upon a plan of conquest of these places which will be explained in the next chapter.

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