Today is the 234th anniversary of the British surrender following the Battle of Vincennes at Fort Sackville in what is now Indiana. This 1779 battle is is notable for at least four reasons: The actions of Colonel Clark and his company-strength unit of men endured considerable hardship in a surprise march across the flooded and frozen Illinois prairie and yet defeated a numerically superior and fortified enemy force with small arms, primarily rifle fire alone; the flatboat carrying artillery support from Fort Pitt/Pittsburgh down the Ohio River and up the Wabash failed to arrive in time for Clark’s attack and the British surrendered before it finally arrived. The territory thus secured by Clark and his 172 men included present-day Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and parts of Ohio and Michigan; the next nearest British fort and garrison was at Detroit. Clark’s use of psychological warfare, ruse and bluff was notable, and his leadership worthy of special note: Great things may be effected by a few men when well conducted. And so they were.
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February 25th is also the 86th birthday of bluegrass music legend Ralph Stanley. (He was born in 1927.) His great harmonizing and tenor solos have an almost haunting sound to them.
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Micah Wood of C.R.O.S.S. Ministries has returned from his first trip to South Sudan. Don’t miss reading his newsy and inspiring update, below.