This is the sad story of a hero. A hero who died destitute only to have the state reimburse his estate for debts owed.

Towering over the Wabash River, the monument was hard to miss. With the backdrop of an autumn sky, its white marble glittering in the sunshine. Although it caught our attention, we had no idea what it was. We stood and stared for awhile and then headed over to learn what we could. Turns out it is a monument honoring George Rogers Clark.Okay, we know about Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, but nothing about George Rogers Clark. Well, he is William Clark’s older brother and a Revolutionary War hero. In fact, the monument and the area surrounding it is the George Rogers Clark National Historic Park. Why in Vincennes?

Vincennes was the gateway to the Northwest Territory and at the time under British control. After many successful campaigns along the way, Clark marched into Vincennes in 1779 capturing Fort Sackville from the British. Due to Clark’s success he became known as the “Conqueror of the Old Northwest”.

Interestingly even with all his successes Clark died penniless. He was granted 150,000 acres in present day southern Indiana which became known as “Clark’s Grant”. Unfortunately he did not have the resources to develop the land since he spend his own money on his campaigns. Clark tried to receive reimbursement from Virginia, but they called his receipts “fraudulent”.

Clark died in February 1818 and some years later Virginia paid his estate $30,000 as partial payment for debts owed. The last payment to his estate was made in 1913.

Knowing nothing about George Rogers Clark, we learned what a great military strategist he was. Along with the military honors we also learned his life was not an easy one in later years. It is sad to think that the man known as the “Conqueror of the Old Northwest” died alone and penniless.

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