George Rogers Clark was a great hero of the Revolutionary War. He led a group of frontiersmen in fighting the British in the Ohio River Valley. His greatest feat was the capture of the British fort and settlement at Vincennes. To reach it, he led his men on a 200-mile trek through a frozen swamp. The last two days were without food. His victories resulted in the Northwest Territory being part of the Treaty of Paris. Unfortunately, his campaign left him broke. He had paid for it partly with his own money and put up his land as security. His expected reimbursement for his expenses did not come through partly because of bureaucratic red tape and nitpicking about the “exorbitant” prices he had been forced to pay for supplies. Some of his bills were lost (and later found in an attic in 1913). When the Virginia legislature presented him with a secondhand sword (barely used, they claimed), he broke over his knee and threw in the Ohio River. He lost his lands and became penniless. His late years were marked by poverty, poor health, and depression. As he approached death, Virginia gave him a new sword and $400 pension. In 1928, a one million dollar memorial honoring him was put up at Vincennes.
– Oh Say Can You See? by John and Claire Whitcomb pp. 45-46
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