Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous

Memorial Day is normally associated with backyard barbecues, solemn ceremonies in cemeteries to commemorate those who gave their lives defending the United States, and, around the great Hoosier State, the Indy 500.

However, in the southwestern part of the state, every Memorial Day Weekend the city of Vincennes is transported back to the 18th century. Living historians from the North West Territory Alliance come by the hundreds to attend the Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous, a two-day gathering commemorating the victory of Lt. Col. George Rogers Clark over the British at the siege of Fort Sackville. 

With it being the 250th Anniversary of the founding of the United States, this year brought in a crowd that by the opinions of some of the living historians, is larger than previous years. There’s good reason: Clark’s 1779 victory at Ft. Sackville put British claims to the Northwest Territory into question and four years later, that land was ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. This is important because a counterfactual argument was made by Hoosier writer and politician William English that without this battle, Indiana might have become a Canadian province. 

Attendees to the Rendezvous were treated to period entertainment, games, cooking and craft demonstrations, a host of vendors and the much anticipated battles. Many participants and the public came from out of state as far as Chicago, Louisville, Milwaukee and Grand Rapids. 

There were moments with serious tones: on Sunday morning, there was a rare sight at a National Park, as a cannon was fired in honor of NWTA members who had passed as well as a 21 gun salute to the soldiers who fought at Ft. Sackville. 

The event was punctuated by a candlelight tour of the George Rogers Clark Monument led by living historians from Worthington’s Illinois Regiment of Virginia. Walter Hast, a living historian from that group explained to the audience the story of George Rogers Clark and candles are lit at the grave markers in the Old French Cemetery.