George Rogers Clark and William Croghan: A Story of the Revolution, Settlement, and Early Life at Locust Grove by Gwynne Tuell Potts

Abstract

Reviewed by: George Rogers Clark and William Croghan: A Story of the Revolution, Settlement, and Early Life at Locust Grove by Gwynne Tuell Potts R. Douglas Hurt George Rogers Clark and William Croghan: A Story of the Revolution, Settlement, and Early Life at Locust Grove. By Gwynne Tuell Potts. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2020. Pp. viii, 306. $40.00, ISBN 978-0-8131-7867-7.) The name George Rogers Clark often brings to mind Indian-white warfare in the trans-Appalachian West. Although Clark’s military exploits in Kentucky, the Ohio River Valley, and the Illinois Country in behalf of Virginia and the national government from the American Revolution through the War of 1812 are familiar to anyone knowledgeable about this period, his later years are less well known. Even fewer people know much about William Croghan, the Irishborn veteran of the Virginia Line of the Continental army and western businessperson. It is in these respects regarding Clark and Croghan that this new book by Gwynne Tuell Potts, former executive director and president of Historic Locust Grove, contributes to historical knowledge. Clark met Croghan during the Revolution, and they became friends for life. After the war, Clark, as principal surveyor, hired Croghan to help lay out Virginia’s military bounty lands, and Croghan stood by Clark in his efforts to secure lands in Kentucky and the Illinois Country by both peace and warfare. After the American Revolution, Virginia wanted a leader who could suppress Native American resistance and ensure its land claims west of the Appalachians. Clark had a reputation for military skill and ruthlessness. Potts goes beyond this well-told story by pursuing Clark after his military years when his grievances festered because Virginia and the federal government declined to pay for his military expenses, at least until near the end of his life. To do so, Potts follows Clark’s efforts to raise a western army to help France overthrow the Spanish regime at New Orleans and establish a colony of Virginians on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Along the way, she notes the intrigues of James Wilkinson and Aaron Burr in the West. Potts also traces the life of William Croghan who, in 1790, purchased 387 acres near Louisville and built a house known as Locust Grove. Croghan’s residence soon became a place of visitation for many western leaders, such as William Clark (George Rogers Clark’s brother), Meriwether Lewis, and Andrew Jackson, among others. William Croghan married the Clarks’ sister, Lucy, thereby strengthening the interfamily relationship. In 1818, George Rogers Clark, ill, penniless, and embittered, died at Locust Grove under the care of his prosperous friend. Potts acknowledges the often dysfunctional relationships of the Croghan family and the sales of Locust Grove to various nonfamily buyers. In 1961, Jefferson County and the commonwealth of Kentucky purchased Locust Grove and its remaining fifty-five acres. Locust Grove became a National Historic Landmark by virtue of the many well-known people who passed through its doors. Louisville metro government now owns it. Overall, Potts provides a succinct survey of the interconnected lives of George Rogers Clark and William Croghan. Her portrayal of Clark’s life after the War of 1812 is a story of heartbreak and decline, and his relationship with Croghan is a testament to friendship and loyalty during good and bad times. Both men lived “socially traditional” lives for the age regarding slavery, Native [End Page 119] Americans, and national expansion (p. 2). The latter part of the book provides ample genealogical information that can be tedious to follow. Potts bases her work on primary research to consider Clark’s later years when his military exploits largely had been forgotten, but when his friendship with Croghan remained unwavering. In the end, Clark contributed to securing Kentucky and the Illinois Country for the United States, while William Croghan’s Locust Grove became a physical legacy to a little-known period in American history. R. Douglas Hurt Purdue University Copyright © 2021 The Southern Historical Association