The Coolidge examiner., 1934-02-23


- In the era OF discovery. You'd prob
ably include Henri de Tonu. the Man with the
Iron Hand companion in arms % the Erea;
French explorer la Sale
But there's stil one missing Tie was one o.,
the foreigners who aided the American colonies
90 their struggle for independents and thus had
. part In founding this nation Every American
knows os Ia Faye,tc and De Kalb. the French
men: Kosciuscko aud Pulaski. the Poles and
Won stenbcn. the Gcrman-ail OF whom nt that
description. but how many OF them know about
Francesca yigo. the Itallanl
lie was soldier banker spy. patriot. diplo-
mat and merchant prince: he iAbored nightly
In the cause of American Independence and long
afterwards In the Interests OF the Republic:
he is not only cntlEeiy worthy Of being Included
in any list. no matter how small and select. o,
Italians who profoundly Influenced American his.
tory. but be also deserves a position OF honor In
the remembrance OF Americans with the French.
men the Poles and the German previously men
toned
If this IL true why ls vgo 50 little known 10
most AmericanS1 Because be is one of those
forgotten heroes who By some strange turn
OF fate have Eeen denied the fame that Il right
fully theirs. But fortunately for Nlgo's fame
fellow-couniryman. who Won renown few years
sgo by excavatlng the buried Roman city Of
fentls Magma In northern Africa has turned his
result ts the nrst full-length ~portrait' OF this
little known hero OF the American Revolution
the book "ylgo: Forgotten Builder OF the
American Republic" by Bruno Roselli. published
by the Stratford company OF Boston.
Il IL especially appropriate 10 examine this
portrait al this time for February - will
marx the one hundred ifty-hfth anniversary OF
the scapfure OF Ylnccnnes by George Rogers
Clark. one OF the outstanding achievements Of
-
suits without the aid Of francesca vigo. George
Rogers Clark might not have won that splendid
victory nor from II have come those important
results.
Most OF the school histories mention vlgo's
name but they assign him minor role in the
story of clark's conquest of the Old Northwest
tut Mr. Roselli has revised that view OF him. OF
his early llfe. this much can be said: He was
bora NJ MondoVi. Italy. on December 3. iT4T
Early In life the spirit OF wanderlust SEIZED him
and he ran away from home, eventually arriving
In Spain. where he enlisted In the Spanish army
for service In the colonies muleteer. driver
or caretaker OF the iong-eared animals which car
rled army supplies
vigo was frst sent TO Havana. Cuba. wlth his
regiment and after n year there was sent TO
New Orleans. where Hnd him listed as a
"fusilero" in the militia OF that colony. Next
be hecame a member Of a body OF irregular
Mississippi river 10 St Louis. where lived His
Exceuency Don Fernando de Leyba. governor Of
Uppcr Louisiana. which had been cetled to Spain
by France in lT62-
The post was small and presently the two
men came face 10 face" writes Roselll. They
fully understood their mutual needs. and. while
starting from the opposite ends o. the social
ladder they had the wisdom 10 find NJ once a
common meeting ground So. a little later
~the two men entered into a secret partnership
forming an alliance which their neighbprs only
surrnised NJ FIRST bat which became a matter oi
pubic record AZ de Leybas untlmely death
Thus vigo embarked upon the career which was
70 make him famous throughout the Mississippi
valley az the time as the Spanish merchant" a
contemporary designation which IS largely r.
spons.ble for later error 10 regard to MS na
touaity.
BY the time George Rogers Clark appeared on
the scene VigO was rated as OF the wealth
Test ,ren In that part OF the country with agen
eiss Tor his fur-trading business in Kassaskla
vincenRes and as far north as SIacknac. The
story OF Ciark's capture OF KaSkaskia in lI1S Is
too familiar to need recountinE here. but Yigo.
vart IN the capture OF yiDcennes. the next steI
In CiarSs ambitious plan to wrest the Ola North
pes, from the British. is not 81 well known.
c;erk realized that until the British driy