Staunton Star - Times - Published in the Interest of the Staunton Community for Over 143 Years

By Tom Emery

During the American Revolution in Illinois, the Declaration of Independence was not the only important event on July 4. On that date in 1778, George Rogers Clark’s brazen capture of Kaskaskia in southwestern Illinois secured a key outpost for the American cause.

The older brother of William Clark, partner in the expedition with Meriwether Lewis from 1804-06, Clark believed that the capture of the British stronghold of Detroit would lead to the colonial control west of the Appalachians. To achieve that goal, Clark proposed an offensive on the outposts at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, an...