1777年,独立战争的炮火蔓延到肯塔基。英国殖民当局副总督亨利·汉密尔顿(英语:Henry Hamilton (colonial administrator))武装了当地的印第安人,并以“收回狩猎场”来吸引他们,鼓励他们对肯塔基州的殖民者发动袭击。而此时的大陆军没有余力去向西北进攻或保卫肯塔基,因此只能完全由当地殖民者承担保卫工作。[18]作为肯塔基县民兵的领袖,克拉克花了几个月的时间来保卫县境内的定居点,抵御印第安人的突袭,同时制定了对英军进行打击的计划。他的战略包括占领俄亥俄河以北的英国前哨站点,以极大削弱英国在印第安人当中的影响力。[13][19]
1782年8月,另一支英国-印第安人联合部队在蓝舔战役(英语:Battle of Blue Licks)中击败肯塔基民兵。克拉克是肯塔基民兵组织的高级军官,但没有参加战斗,因此他在弗吉尼亚州议会上受到了严厉的批评。[34]作为对外界指责的回应,1782年11月,克拉克带领另一支探险队进入俄亥俄,摧毁了大迈阿密河沿岸的几个印第安人村庄,包括位于今俄亥俄州迈阿密县的皮夸村。这是独立战争中最后一次大规模的远征。[35]
1785年和1786年,克拉克相继协助达成了《麦金托什堡条约(英语:Treaty of Fort McIntosh)》[45]和《芬尼堡条约》,但印第安人和欧洲裔定居者之间的暴力冲突仍然持续升级。[30][44]根据1790年美国政府的一份报告,自独立战争结束以来,有1500名肯塔基定居者在印第安人的袭击中丧生。[46]为了终结这种袭击,克拉克在1786年带领一支1200人的部队,对沃巴什河沿岸的印第安人村庄发起了进攻。这场行动是西北印第安战争的第一次行动[47],但最终未能取得胜利。由于物资短缺,大约300名民兵叛变,因此克拉克不得不撤退,但在此之前,他与当地部落达成了停火协议。然而,詹姆斯·威尔金森等人散布流言,称克拉克在军队中经常喝醉。[48]克拉克得知这些指控后,要求进行正式调查,但弗吉尼亚州州长拒绝了他的要求,弗吉尼亚州议会也谴责了他的行为。流言的传播使得克拉克的名誉受损,从此他再也没有带兵作战。克拉克离开肯塔基,越过俄亥俄河,来到印第安纳边境,在今印第安纳州克拉克斯维尔附近定居下来。[48][49]
然而,1794年初,华盛顿发布《中立性宣言(英语:Proclamation of Neutrality)》,禁止美国人实施任何威胁美国的中立性的行动,并威胁要派遣安东尼·韦恩将军到马萨克堡,以阻止远征。法国政府召回了热内,并取消了他授予美国人的对西班牙战争的任务。克拉克的计划自此宣告失败,雪上加霜的是,他无法说服法国人偿还费用。[57]独立战争结束时,克拉克的声誉已经因为早期的指控而染上污点,而这些外国阴谋又使得他的声誉进一步受损。[58]
克拉克从未结婚,也从未有过任何恋爱关系,然而,他的家人认为他曾与西属路易斯安那副总督费尔南多·德·莱巴(英语:Fernando de Leyba)的妹妹特雷莎·德·莱巴相爱。威斯康星州历史协会档案中的“德雷珀手稿”中有他的侄女和堂兄写的文章,证实了他们的观点,即克拉克确实有过一段失败的恋情,并为此抱憾终生。[73]
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^Holmberg, James J. The Clark Family and the Kentucky Derby. The Filson News Magazine. Vol. 4 no. 1 (The Filson Historical Society). 2004 [2022-01-31]. (原始内容存档于2016-10-13).
^Mead, Edwin Doak. Old South Meeting House. The Old South Leaflets: Annual Series. 1893. (原始内容存档于2016-06-24).
^Palmer, Frederick. Clark of the Ohio: A Life of George Rogers Clark. Kessinger Publishing. 1929: 3. ISBN 0-7661-8139-1.
^ 6.06.1Fischer, James. A Forgotten Hero Remembered, Revered, and Revised: The Legacy and Ordeal of George Rogers Clark. Indiana Magazine of History. 1996, 92 (2): 109.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 1. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 35–38.
^Palmer, Frederick. Clark of the Ohio: A Life of George Rogers Clark. Kessinger Publishing. 1929: 4–5. ISBN 0-7661-8139-1.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 1. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 56.
^Palmer, Frederick. Clark of the Ohio: A Life of George Rogers Clark. Kessinger Publishing. 1929: 51. ISBN 0-7661-8139-1.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 1. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 60.
^Palmer, Frederick. Clark of the Ohio: A Life of George Rogers Clark. Kessinger Publishing. 1929: 56. ISBN 0-7661-8139-1.
^Palmer, Frederick. Clark of the Ohio: A Life of George Rogers Clark. Kessinger Publishing. 1929: 74. ISBN 0-7661-8139-1.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 1. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 70–71.
^Palmer, Frederick. Clark of the Ohio: A Life of George Rogers Clark. Kessinger Publishing. 1929: 394. ISBN 0-7661-8139-1.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 1. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 87.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 1. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 92.
^ 21.021.1Clark, George Rogers. Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library: Virginia series, Volume 8 of George Rogers Clark Papers, 1771-1784. Illinois State Historical Library: Trustees of the Illinois State Historical Library. 1912: 28, 117–118.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 1. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 168.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 1. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 234.
^ 26.026.1Palmer, Frederick. Clark of the Ohio: A Life of George Rogers Clark. Kessinger Publishing. 1929: 391–394. ISBN 0-7661-8139-1.
^Palmer, Frederick. Clark of the Ohio: A Life of George Rogers Clark. Kessinger Publishing. 1929: 400–421. ISBN 0-7661-8139-1.
^ 28.028.1Fischer, James. A Forgotten Hero Remembered, Revered, and Revised: The Legacy and Ordeal of George Rogers Clark. Indiana Magazine of History. 1996, 92 (2): 110.
^ 29.029.1English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 2. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 682.
^ 30.030.130.2Gugin, Linda C.; St. Clair, James E. Indiana's 200: The People Who Shaped the Hoosier State. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society Press. 2015: 61. ISBN 978-0-87195-387-2.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 2. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 730.
^Palmer, Frederick. Clark of the Ohio: A Life of George Rogers Clark. Kessinger Publishing. 1929: 424. ISBN 0-7661-8139-1.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 2. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 758–760.
^Palmer, Frederick. Clark of the Ohio: A Life of George Rogers Clark. Kessinger Publishing. 1929: 79. ISBN 0-7661-8139-1.
^Palmer, Frederick. Clark of the Ohio: A Life of George Rogers Clark. Kessinger Publishing. 1929: IIX. ISBN 0-7661-8139-1.
^Fischer, James. A Forgotten Hero Remembered, Revered, and Revised: The Legacy and Ordeal of George Rogers Clark. Indiana Magazine of History. 1996, 92 (2): 123.
^Fischer, James. A Forgotten Hero Remembered, Revered, and Revised: The Legacy and Ordeal of George Rogers Clark. Indiana Magazine of History. 1996, 92 (2): 123-124.
^Madison, James H. Hoosiers: A New History of Indiana. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press and the Indiana Historical Society Press. 2014: 22. ISBN 978-0-253-01308-8.
^Sheehan, Bernard W. "The Famous Hair Buyer General": Henry Hamilton, George Rogers Clark, and the American Indian. Indiana Magazine of History. 1983, 1 (79): 20.
^Clark, George Rogers. James, James Alton , 编. George Rogers Clark papers, 1781-1784. Virginia Series IV. Springfield, IL: Illinois State Historical Library. 1912: 251.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 2. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 790–91.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 2. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 800–803.
^Fischer, James. A Forgotten Hero Remembered, Revered, and Revised: The Legacy and Ordeal of George Rogers Clark. Indiana Magazine of History. 1996, 92 (2): 110, 128.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 2. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 818.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 2. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 821–822.
^Fischer, James. A Forgotten Hero Remembered, Revered, and Revised: The Legacy and Ordeal of George Rogers Clark. Indiana Magazine of History. 1996, 92 (2): 130.
^ 60.060.1English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 2. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 862.
^Fischer, James. A Forgotten Hero Remembered, Revered, and Revised: The Legacy and Ordeal of George Rogers Clark. Indiana Magazine of History. 1996, 92 (2): 131.
^Dunn Jr., Jacob Piatt. Indiana and Indianans. Chicago and New York: American Historical Society. 1919: 382–383.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 2. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 869.
^English, William Hayden. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783, and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark 2. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill. 1896: 880.
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^ 69.069.1Fischer, James. A Forgotten Hero Remembered, Revered, and Revised: The Legacy and Ordeal of George Rogers Clark. Indiana Magazine of History. 1996, 92 (2): 120.
^Fischer, James. A Forgotten Hero Remembered, Revered, and Revised: The Legacy and Ordeal of George Rogers Clark. Indiana Magazine of History. 1996, 92 (2): 122.
^George Rogers Clark Trail: An Indiana Bicentennial Project. Indianapolis: Indiana American Bicentennial Commission. 1979. OCLC 32801237.
^George Rogers Clark and Clark Street. 芝加哥每日论坛报. 1927-04-01.
延伸阅读
Alberts, Robert C. George Rogers Clark and the Winning of the Old Northwest. Washington, D. C.: National Park Service, U. S. Department of the Interior. 1975. OCLC 2020739.
Carstens, Kenneth C.; Carstens, Nancy Son (编). The Life of George Rogers Clark, 1752–1818: Triumphs and Tragedies. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. 2004. ISBN 0-313-32217-1.
Nester, William R. George Rogers Clark: "I Glory in War". Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. 2012. ISBN 978-0-8061-4294-4.
Seineke, Kathrine Wagner. The George Rogers Clark Adventure in the Illinois: and Selected Documents of the American Revolution at the Frontier Posts. New York: Polyanthos. 1981.