The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-04-06

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wayne,s Pennsylvania brigade. II Ia
not widely known that such a thing as q
Virginia state navy cut some figure In.
the Reyniution. sush was the case.
however The colony had q board OF
naval commissioners. with seventy YES
sells In service. the largest carrying four
teen guns and nlnety-six seamcR.
Many OF the men who afterwari
achieved fame in our country's naval
history. acquired, inltnts obscure cst1b-
llshment, their aptitude for the water.
Some OF these small vessels were nan
ned by the faithful black men OF nie
colony. this being the ilrst instance Of
thelr\use In warfare on this side the At
llntic. Not q remnant OF one Of these
vessels remained as late as 1870 AM
other episode In the service Of the Vlr-
glnla troops In the Revolution and 1
have done. II IS seldom thought OF or
referred 10, and even when spoken OF, Is
not duly considered as the event Of such
far.reaching Importance as It proved
afterwarl TO be. l refer TO the eXpedl-
ton Of Colonel George Rogers Clarke
and hisi regiment OF Slrginians, against
tho English garrlsons IN the Illinois
country, In the year 1777. 1t would seem
that the colony OF Virginia had flllcd the
measure or It's requirement., IN the large
force Il contributed to active operations
on the eastern scaboard. But not so.
With VlrEinians beating back Bur-
goyne's advance In northern New York.
and striking stalwart blows in Wash
ingRton's army operating In the Jerseys
and around Philadelphia. they neverthe-
less, had time and disposition 10 recruit
n regiment for Clarke and send II In the
dead OF winter. on q thousand mile
march. to the Mississippi valley.
The story OF this expedition Is like n
page from romance. It was n march
treadcd through long and dismal reaches
OF submerged iowlands. In rain and
storm, across weary stretches OF brown
and stunted prairie, and beneath the pic
turesquc but gloomy forest s~anetuarics,
that naught had disturbed since the
black-robed Jesuit Fathers, nearly 200
years before. carried the crucinx there
on their long Journeys OF toll and woe.
The posts OF Yinscennes and Kaspaskia.
fell thus into u hands and an empire
was won.
All the land northwest OF the Ohio
river was secured to the state OF Vir-
glnia afterwurd to be coded 10 the gen.
eral government. and by It used to re-
deem its promises TO the veterans of the
war for independence. When peace was
proclaimed and the commission met to
range Its terms. n long contention
arose as 20 who should have the north
west territory. but possession was given
to Virginia because Virginia troops held
the captured forts there.
Where would be the boundaries OF
Canada to-day but for Colonel George
Rogers Clarke and his regiment OF Vir-
GINA soldiers? Might not Chicago else
be the imperial city or the queens west
ern empire. and we celebrating this an
nuai meeting nearer the land Of sunrise?
All hail then TO the Virginia troops in
the Revolution, all honor to all the brave
men of the militia and OF the regular
line OF each and every state! Brave
men and worthy patriots, dear to God
and famous 10 ali ages" The old say-
ing that republics are ungratefui never
had so striking an exemplification as In
the treatment Of the Revolutionary SOL
diers after the war. Some one has said,
that many Of them whose merits de-
served a temple scarce found a tomb"
All the more reason then at this late dry
to wake up. to form societies to resusci-
tate the names, and honor the memories,
not only OF the brave men who led. but
also OF the almost namelsss heroes who
followed after them and won the fight.