On Feb. 25, 1779, at 10 a.m., the garrison at Fort Sackville surrendered to American Colonel George Rogers Clark, and the British flag would not be raised above the fort. Clark's American army, aided by French residents of the Illinois country, had marched through freezing floodwaters to win this victory. The fort's capture assured United States claims to the frontier, an area nearly as large as the original 13 states.
