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"Alice of Old Vincennes"

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March, 1926] THE VIRGINIA TEACHER 8S "ALICE OF OLD VINCENNES" Of course, I knew that Vincennes was the strategic British post of all this region Four years ago I happened to spend a during the Revolutionary War; that it had week near Vincennes, Indiana, and took the been taken by a handful of Virginians under occasion to read Maurice Thompson's fa- George Rogers Clark and Joseph Bowman; mous book, Alice of Old Vincennes. Last that thereby it became a part of the United night when I came to Vincennes in a snow- States by the treaty of peace, instead of a storm, I was hoping for a clear day of this part of Canada; and that out of this vast date; for I was anxious to see where it all territory, once a possession of Virginia, five happened. This morning it was still snow- or six great states had been made; but the ing, and tonight it is raining; the weather thing that pleased me most was to observe of the day was a sort of guess between that Vincennes historians know these things snow, rain, sunshine, and shadow; but I too, and have written them in their books. went out anyhow and located the site of In the words of one of these writers : "Vin- Fort Sackville, the old church of Father cennes is one of the most cosmopolitan Beret, and perhaps the very spot where the cities in the United States. She has lived wonderful cherry tree grew in the days of under three flags, the flags of what are now Alice and hunchback Jean. the greatest powers on earth. Bom under Enroute I stopped at the beautiful city France, matured under England, she be- library of Vincennes to be certain that it came the parent of the Northwest Terri- was Thompson who wrote this book, and tory and the mother of the great states of that it was Winston Churchill, a native of Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, and In- St. Louis, who wrote The Crossing, another diana. She was the cradle of American great novel that has much of its setting in world power. Because of the revolutionary and around this same old French town. In battle fought on her soil, the Mississippi, in- the library, very appropriately, I found stead of the Alleghanies, became our first something about both Churchill and Thomp- western boundary." son, and also, just as fittingly, a good deal The fact that all the rich territory north- about the city of Vincennes itself. One west of the Ohio River was a Virginia pos- book of 220 pages, by H. S. Cauthom, pre- session from 1779 to 1784 is unequivocally sents an interesting order of topics and stated by these Vincennes historians, as well events dating from 1702 to 1901; another, as the fact that Virginia gave all this vast of 290 pages, by Dr. Hubbard M. Smith, is empire to the general government in 1784. perhaps less scholarly, but is no less read- This endowed the federal government and able. did perhaps more than anything else to The most attractive thing I found was an make the Union possible and permanent. artistic "Tourist's Guide to Historic Vin- Herein, therefore, is one of the patent reas- cennes," compiled and published by the ons why Virginia has so often been most Vincennes Fortnightly Club, and now in the properly termed the "Mother of States." second edition. In this I learned that Vin- When she surrendered this territory in 1784 cennes was the first capital of Indiana Ter- she stipulated, among other things, that ritory; that it is the oldest town (of white slavery should be barred and that states men) in the Northwest Territory, with the should be erected therefrom. possible exception of Detroit, Michigan, and Whoever wrote the inscription for the Kaskaskia, Illinois; the home of the first stone that marks the site of old Fort Sack- newspaper in Indiana; and the home of the ville, known after 1779 as Fort Patrick first college as well as the first public school Henry, perhaps went a little too far by in- in Indiana. cluding all of Minnesota within the Clark 86 THE VIRGINIA TEACHER [Vol. 7, No, 3 conquest; but here is what he wrote—I saw Joseph Bowman, his right-hand man, also it today; under 30, who died here in the captured SITE fort and lies somewhere hereabout in. an OF unmarked grave, will also in time be recog- FORT SACKVILLE nized nationally, as he well deserves. The CAPTURED BY purchase of Louisiana by President Jeffer- COL, GEO. ROGERS CLARK son in 1803 was perhaps the greatest From the British achievement of its kind in American his- FEB. 25, 1779; RESULTING IN THE U. S. tory; the conquest of the Northwest Terri- ACQUIRING THE GREAT tory by Clark, Bowman, Gibault, Vigo, and NORTHWEST TERRITORY men from the Shenandoah Valley, from EMBRACING THE STATES OF Fauquier, and neighboring regions, will INDIANA, OHIO, ILLINOIS, easily rank next. MICHIGAN, WISCONSIN, I wish that every teacher in our schools AND MINNESOTA would read Churchill's The Crossing and I came to Vincennes to study American Thompson's Alice of Old Vincennes, two history where a lot of it was made. I was of the very best American historical novels. not disappointed. Years of reading from They clothe a wonderful period of our his- books and maps were vitalized by the snow- tory in flesh and blood. covered plain, the encircling arcs of low By the merest accident, while tarrying in hills, by the broken tombstones of the old the Vincennes library this morning, I graveyard, and by the rushing flood of the learned that the man who inspired Thomp- broad muddy river. Very much like they son's great story is still living here in the are today were most of the great natural city. I was given his name and address. factors of the situation in February, 1779, From two o'clock till three this afternoon I when Clark and his little band, wet, frozen, watched his face and listened to the story and starved, came toiling across the flooded from his own lips. He is an Alsatian, aged country from Kaskaskia. 75, but still well preserved, perfect in sight The Wabash River, on whose bank Fort and hearing. He is a man of education and Sackville stood, is 240 yards wide. Today a writer of no mean ability. He left Alsace- it was muddy and turbulent, filled with Lorraine 54 years ago to avoid service in cakes of snow and ice, carried rapidly the Prussian army; he came to Vincennes down. I could almost imagine a forlorn because so many French people were al- band of young Virginians, shivering and ready here. He learned the traditions of faint, but with the light of empire in their old Vincennes; and he still speaks the eyes, on the farther bank. French language today, after nearly all the And yet, the first school histories of the families who have been .here since colonial United States that I read and studied did days have forgotten it. He lives on the border of the old French quarter of Vin- not even mention Clark's name, so far as I can recall. cennes, not far from the site of the old fort, Here in Vincennes, Francis Vigo, who the abandoned cemetery, and the church of Father Beret. with Father Gibault, gave Clark's enterprise invaluable support, died in poverty. Forty Thompson came to Vincennes from New years after he was dead the Congress of the Orleans—discouraged and at a loss what United States paid him notable though tardy next to do. For several years he had been honor. working on a story of Louisiana, only to Clark is now being recognized as one of have it brought out ahead of him by Ros- the great builders of the United States. tand and Sarah Bemhardt. He came to Dr. March, 1926] THE VIRGINIA TEACHER 87 Valcour, for so he calls him in dedicating tinue his efforts to organize English teach- Alice of Old Vincennes to him, asking him ers in each of the ten districts. to translate certain French manuscripts. Garland Quarles, of the Handley High From these manuscripts, and from certain School, Winchester, was selected as chair- productive suggestions of Valcour, the mas- man of the group in District G, and at the terpiece was produced. District H meeting in Manassas it is ex- This man's real name, of course, is not pected that a chairman for that region may Alcide Valcour. It is Benjamin Fritsch. be chosen. In Southwest Virginia both This name sounds German, and so perhaps Districts I and K will be organized by Pro- it is; but Fritsch classes himself as French, fessor J. R. L. Johnson of the Radford and speaks French as his mother tongue. Teachers College. As may be imagined, he takes a keen pride Thus only Districts E and J have not in Alice of Old Vincennes. In my opinion, taken the initial step in bringing together he has ample justification therefor. their English teachers. Much of course re- John W. Wayland mains to be done in all districts, but first there must be responsible chairmen in the ENGLISH NOTES ten districts if a state organization is to be effected that will be permanent. NORTH CAROLINA ACTIVE The annual meeting of the North Caro- ENGLISH WORK AT LINCOLN lina Council of English Teachers is to be SCHOOL held on April 16 and 17 in Charlotte. Miss Believing that subject matter is not an Marguerite Herr, President of the Council, end in itself but a means of growth for each is arranging for an exhibit of English text- individual child, and that ample provision books by various publishers and also an ex- must be made for individual instruction, hibit of newspapers and magazines.
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