Illinois Country
In late 1778, George Rogers Clark, a young Virginia militia officer, launched a campaign to seize the sparsely garrisoned Illinois Country from the British. With a company of volunteers, Clark captured Kaskaskia, the chief post in the Illinois Country, on July 4, and later secured the submission of Vincennes. Vincennes was recaptured by General Henry Hamilton, the British commander at Detroit. In February 1779, Clark marched to Vincennes in a surprise winter march and captured Hamilton himself.