The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
Issue link: http://sar.epubxp.com/i/153219
Vincennes Rendezvous T he SAR national ceremony marking the 234th anniversary of George Rogers Clark's 1779 capture of Fort Sackville from the British was held on Saturday, May 25, in the Rotunda of the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Vincennes, Ind. Upon learning of Clark's capture of Kaskaskia, British Lt. Gov. Henry Hamilton led a force from Detroit to Vincennes, arriving there on Dec. 17, 1778. After deciding to postpone an attack on Kaskaskia until spring, Hamilton sent his Indian allies home for the winter. Realizing his small force would be unable to hold the Illinois posts if Hamilton had sufficient time to gather his forces, Clark decided to attack Vincennes immediately and, on Feb. 6, 1779, departed Kaskaskia with 172 men, including some French volunteers. After a march of some 240 miles through flooded country, often shoulder deep in water, Clark's force arrived at Vincennes on Feb. 23 and surprised the British. Thinking Clark's force was much larger than it was, Hamilton surrendered on Feb. 25. As the result of Clark's defeat of the British, American claims in the old Northwest served as the basis of the cession of these lands, encompassing all or parts of the current states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota, to the United States at the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Escorted by members of the INSSAR, those presenting wreaths honoring George Rogers Clark were President General Stephen A. Leishman, VPG Central District Forest B. Chilton, INSSAR President Dr. William E. Sharp III, KYSSAR President Thomas E. Geimeier, OHSSAR Color Guard Commander William A. Robinson, WVSSAR Past President Lance Carter, INLASAR President April Legler, INSDAR Southern District Director Cherie Baxter, KYSDAR representative Judy E. Carter, INSC.A.R. President Hannah Vandermolen, as well as compatriots representing seven INSSAR and three KYSSAR chapters. Following the ceremony, President General Leishman placed American flags on the graves of patriots buried in the cemetery of the Old Cathedral Catholic Church, which adjoins the grounds of the George Rogers Clark National Historic Park. SUMMER 2013 Nominating Committee Announced The members of the NSSAR Nominating Committee, 2013-14 are as follows: President General Stephen A. Leishman (2012-13), chairman; Presidents General David N. Appleby, Edward F. Butler Sr., Larry J. Magerkurth, J. David Sympson; Michael Eugene Barger (NMSSAR), Robert Neil Capps (MOSSAR), Capt. Roger W. Coursey, USCG, (GASSAR), Kent Shepard Webber (VASSAR), Robert A. Bogardus (ORSSAR) and John A. Moller (NJSSAR). The State President Alternates are, first, James Morris Lindley (WASSAR); second, William E. Sharp III, Ph.D. (MISSAR); third, Michael Ellis Fishbein (MASSAR) and fourth, Richard W. Sage (ESSAR). C. Louis Roborg Jr. is the first Trustee Alternate, and George David Thompson is the second. 29