| Show the capture 0 alet U clinch 0 vi cennes FT T A col 7 geo e OEM rog ni clem aa A aali A ft the ie surrender of fort SaCk sackville vill e L ge florn ole point 1 na by F rc Y ha attic jre taj OT 11 ly C 0 s merrill Comp Compe nj fg by ELMO SCOTT WATSON F P YOU were asked to make a list of italians who have bad an important part in making american history how many would there be christopher columbus of course would head bead the list and after him would come amerigo vespucci for whom america was named and john and sebastian cabot who were italians even though they did sail aall under the banner of england in the era of discovery p probably rob include henri de the man with the iron hand companion in arms of the great gre it french explorer la salle but theres still one missing ile he was one of the foreigners who aided the american colonies in their struggle for independence and thus had a part in founding this nation every american knows of la fayette and de kalb the french imen Kosc luscko and pulaski kl the poles and von steuben the german all ot of whom fit that description but how many of them know about francesco vigo the italian he was a soldier banker spy patriot diplomat and merchant prince he labored mightily in the cause of american independence and long afterwards in the interests of the new republic ian he be Is not only entirely worthy of being included alln any list no matter how small and select of italians who profoundly influenced american history but he also deserves a position of honor la in ithe abe remembrance of americans with the frenchmen the poles and the german previously mentioned if this Is true why Is vigo so little known to americans because he Is one of those forgotten heroes who by some strange turn of ct fate have been denied the fame that Is rightfully theirs but fortunately tor for fame a fellow countryman who won renown a few years ago by excavating the burled buried roman itoman city of magna in northern africa has turned his talents from archeology archaeology arche to biography and the result Is the first full length portrait of this little known hero of the american revolution the book vigo A forgotten builder of the american republic by bruno Rosel roseall ll published by the stratford company of at boston it Is especially appropriate to examine this portrait idt at this time tor for february 25 will mark the one hundred fifty fifth anniversary of the capture of vincennes by george rogers dark clark one of the outstanding achievements of the struggle straggle for 1115 alberty erty because of its later results without the aid of francesco vigo george rogers clark might not have won that splendid victory nor from it have come those important results most of the school histories mention name but they assign him a minor role in the story etory of darks clarks conquest of the old northwest but mr roselli has revised that view of him of kis his early life this much can be said ne he BBS as born at Mon dorl italy on december 3 1747 early in life the spirit of wanderlust seized him find and he ran away from home eventually arriving in spain where be enlisted in the spanish army for service in the colonies as a muleteer a driver or caretaker of the long eared animals which carried army supplies vigo was first sent to havana cuba with his regiment and after a year there was sent to yew new orleans where here we find him listed as a fusilero fusile riall in the militia of that colony next he be became a member of a body of irregular troops and by some means made his way up the mississippi river to st louis where lived ills his excellency don fernando de leyba governor of upper louisiana which had bad been ceded to spain by france tn in the post was small and presently the two men came face to face writes roselli Rosel ll they fully understood their mutual needs and while starting from the opposite ends of the social ladder adder they had the wisdom to find at once a common meeting ground so a little later the two men entered into a secret partnership 1 forming an alliance which their neighbors only 1 surmised at first but which aich became a matter of public record at de leybas untimely death thus vigo embarked upon the career which was as ito to make him famous throughout the mississippi valley at the time as the spanish merchant a contemporary designation which is largely responsible for later labor error in regard to his bis nationality tiona lity by the time george rogers dark clark appeared on the scene vigo was rated as one of the wealthiest men in that part of the country with wit agencies tor for his fur trading business in kaskaskia vincennes and as far north as mackinac Mackl nac the story etory of darks clarles capture of kaskaskia Kas kashla in 1778 Is too familiar to need recounting here but part in the capture of vincennes the next step in darks clarks ambitious plan to wrest the old northwest from the british Is not so well known dark clark realized that until the british were daiv A ZI rg M 6 1 2 41 arch to Vincennes cn cm the curol murol by gilbert white courtesy V pre 0 q V W ir 1 0 Q lk paz AM I 1 r fort Sackville Vincenne ind carom from an enoki old drawns en from vincennes the real center of their power in that region his hold on kaskaskia Kas kaskla was precarious at best and his chances for extending his conquest were very slight the only answer to his problem was to attack vincennes and capture or drive away gen henry hamilton the british commander and his force there of this roselle says dark clark at kaskaskia Kas kaskla was helpless until he knew what was going on at vincennes over miles away through a muddy wilderness infested by those scalping indians indiana of general hamilton whose prowess had brought upon that stern fighter the nickname of hair buyer no news had leaked through since august 1778 winter with ith its terrors was already upon them and spring was bound to reopen the line of supply between be teen british vincennes and british detroit vigo at this time already a prosperous merchant who could not with impunity forego his interests and an italian to whom the future of this frinco franco anglo hispano american continent might have seemed immaterial left everything and with no remuneration whatsoever started upon his career as a gentleman spy he took with him a single servant and made for vin via miles his one chance to accomplish his mission depended upon the following succession of events ile he must be taken prisoner prevail upon his savage captors not to scalp him appear before Fl hamilton amilton manage to avoid not only imprisonment or execution but even expulsion linger on in vincennes seeing everything in the fort and everybody in the settlement then make good his escape not an pasy easy program but one which lie he followed according to plans and schedule for vigo succeeded in doing just as he had planned lie he was captured by Ind indians lans brought safely to fort sackville at vincennes questioned by hamilton succeeded in allaying the british rene generals rals suspicions enough so that hamilton allowed him to depart after he had been at vincennes for some time upon his signing a pledge that he would return to st louis with without nut doing anything injurious to british interests vigo scrupulously kept his pledge by returning to st louls louis after which he immediately departed for kaskaskia Kas kaskla and made the report to clark on the condition of the garrison at vincennes which determined clarks decision to march against that post but this spying trip of wag as not his only contribution to the success of clarks expedition expedit lon in fact it was the least of it for far more important was his financial help which made the expedition possible during the summer of 1778 clark had only virginia currency which was no good with the french merchants of that town for the purchase of supplies until vigo induced them to accept it now clark was again indeed in need of money to pay his men to buy arms and supplies again vigo came to his rescue on december 4 he cashed a draft of darks clarka on oliver pollock the virginia agent at new orleans 1 ans for more than and on january 23 28 he cashed another for nearly 1500 forty eight hours later clark and his party of rapidly equipped with cash and supplies were disappearing lo in the wIlder wilderness nesA eastbound 1 I writes rosell A long time pass jeffore the gallant colonel beheld Poll rocks sarcastic letter explaining his refusal t to 0 extend further credit to the americans how colonel blaik and the state slate of virginia expect such heavy sums to be paid by men without money Is a mystery which only time can point out it Is the quintessence of irony that the fiscal agents letter was written on the very same day when vigo the stranger was turning over his entire fortune as an unprotected unregistered unlimited loan which he never could collect if clark failed and which he never did collect even though clark by winning a skirmish annexed an empire for as every american knows dark clark did win his skirmish at vincennes a skirmish which ended in the surrender of fort sackville by hamilton to the virginia leader on february 25 1779 and the capture of this post strengthened the hand of the american peace commissioners at the close of the revolution in demanding that the western boundary of the new republic should be the mississippi river instead of the allegheny mountains but how many americans know what was the reward of vigo for his services to in making that possible or what was his later career it is not a story of which we as a nation can very well be proud after the revolution vigo made his home at vincennes ile he continued to provide money to sustain american credit in the newly won wilderness lie ile tried to build up a series of trading posts and protected trade routes between philadelphia detroit and new orleans that would bind the indians to the american cause ills his extensive loans finally led to financial disaster for the rich spanish merchant and his plan for the trading posts and trade routes was defeated by american inertia and ineptness in dealing with the HIP indians indiana when lie he tried to get back some of the money ilitch lie he had bad lent dark clark and others a penurious and suspicious federal government refused to honor his claims despite the firt fact vint that dark clark made full ac of fit HIP justice of the claims in letters to patrick henry thomas jefferson and to george mason to vincennes cante came william henry harrlson first arst goi go governor ot of the territory nho ho became vicos friend years later while title the italian it ilam was pressing his claims against the government Hn anlon lon then president used his influence unsuccessfully albeit to get them paid to vincennes in 1831 1834 came the noted traveler maximilian prince of aled who wrote in his journal another interesting character lles here but forgotten neglected and in great poverty I 1 mean colonel vigo who rendered important services to the americans they indeed gave him the rank of Co colonel innel hut but now suffer him to starve in 1876 the vigo claims totaling were paid by the government to the second generation of his in laws but the payment had come just 40 years too late to save rands prances vigo from repeating the words w gilch had become Us his refrain tn in the long evening of his last days everybody has forgotten me everybody 1 I lie he died on march 22 and this once wealthy spanish in merchant erchant possessed at that time exclusive of his credit upon the government exactly indiana remembered him to the extent of naming a county after him the bronze voice of a bell which bleb he gave to his fellow citizens of indiana sounds every day from the courthouse of vigo county at terre haute to recall his memory and over a grave in the cemetery at vincennes the daughters of the american lution have erected a memorial which tells that here lies francis vigo patriot whose to the cause of american liberty made possible the capture of fort sackville 11 a 0 by western newspaper union |
