George Rogers Clark

George Rogers Clark, brother of the more famous William Clark (he of the Lewis and Clark Expedition), was responsible for the saving of our young Nation during the Revolutionary War.

In 1778, he led colonial troops from Pennsylvania down the Ohio River to confront British troops and Native American warriors that were establishing a western front to the War.

They came to the "The Falls" and established an encampment by planting a seven-acre island with corn. This became, naturally enough, "Corn Island". Eventually moving to the south bank of the river, a newly signed accord with French King Louis XVI prompted the naming of the town "Louisville".

In February of 1779, Clark led his troops against Fort Vincennes in present-day Indiana. He captured that fort as well as ones at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, securing the Northwest Territory for the United States. Had it not been for those successes, the U.S.-Canadian border could very well be the Ohio River.

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