II. ARKANSAS POST AND THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

A. War Comes to the Lower Mississippi Valley

2. France and Spain Enter the War

The war, which began at Lexington and Concord, did not come to the Mississippi Valley until 1778. Long before she entered what had become a global conflict, Spain had been covertly aiding the American patriots in their struggle against Great Britain. Oliver Pollock, an Irish-American merchant residing in New Orleans, the capital of Spanish Louisiana, was the intermediary in securing assistance from Spain. As early as September 1776, the Spanish government in Louisiana was sending supplies to the Patriots. When Bernardo de Gálvez was named governor-general of Louisiana in 1777, he accelerated the flow of supplies up the Mississippi to the Patriots and strengthened the defenses of his province. With an eye to the future, Spain did not grant to the Americans free navigation of the Mississippi.[4]

In 1778 the Patriots organized and sent two military expeditions into the Mississippi Valley. One of these, led by Col. George Rogers Clark, surprised and captured the British posts in the Illinois Country. The other, commanded by Capt. James Willing, had as its mission conquest of the British settlements in the “old Southwest.” Casting off from Fort Pitt, Willing in January and February 1778 descended the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and raided British plantations in West Florida, seizing property and capturing shipping.

Willing in February descended on Concordia, on the east side of the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Arkansas. Another force, organized by Oliver Pollock, ascended the Mississippi from New Orleans to reinforce and cooperate with Willing. Having scored a number of successes, Willing carried his plunder to New Orleans, where Pollock, acting as agent for the Continental Congress, disposed of it. Governor Galvez winked at this violation of neutrality and allowed Willing’s command to refit in New Orleans.[5]

The British meanwhile reinforced their posts in West Florida. They were therefore prepared and waiting when Captain Willing resumed his raids. Repulsed in an attack on Manchac, Willing and his people found themselves isolated in New Orleans. The British demanded that Governor Gálvez surrender them. Pollock and Gálvez to escape from an embarrassing situation, arranged for the Patriots to return to Fort Pitt by way of Natchitoches and Arkansas Post, thus avoiding another confrontation with the aroused forces of His Majesty. The expense of this trip was borne by Pollock.[6]

In February 1778 the French government signed an alliance with the Continental Congress, and that summer the struggle became world-wide as France entered the conflict. Spain, France’s longtime ally, entered the war in April 1779. The Spanish hoped to take advantage of the situation to embarrass their old enemy and to expand their colonial empire at King George III’s expense.