George Rogers Clark

A Revolutionary War Memorial

There’s a war memorial in Cahokia, Illinois. Now, I know that doesn’t sound particularly unusual, but it’s not just any war memorial…it is, in part, a Revolutionary War memorial. We don’t see too much of that this far west! Of course the main focus of the Revolutionary War portion of this memorial is George Rogers Clark’s (the “Conqueror of the Northwest), Illinois campaign, which eventually led, in part, to our alliance with France which helped end the war, and the near-doubling of the colonies.

The best part of this memorial (in my opinion), is the old flag:

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I love finding these hidden treasures around the St. Louis area!

Fort de Chartres

Thanks to Moose’s teacher, I found out about a great location for a field trip related to our Revolutionary War themed summer school. Fort de Chartres, near Prairie du Rocher, was originally a French fort, then fell into the hands of the British, and finally was taken by George Rogers Clark during the Revolutionary War.

I am so glad she told me about this location–I was despairing of the fact that I couldn’t figure out any field trip in our area that relates to the American Revolution, and it never occurred to me to look into French settlements that existed at that time in history.

We had a great time–there was a small museum, with cool artifacts and reproductions, and several buildings open to tour, including the oldest known building in Illinois, the former armory. Turkey and Bunny also had fun playing around with the cannons on the property, and climbing stairs and ladders to get to the top of the fort wall. It was a great start to our Independence Day weekend!