Take The First Raid By Clark's Will*

the first raid by Clark was right here at the
confluence of the Licking and Ohio Rivers
(Cincinnati in the background)

*My apologies to The Monkees and the writers Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart for shameful use of the lyrics of Last Train To Clarksville in this blog post.

...Oh, no, no, no!...

On this day in Ohio history August 1st 1780, while the Revolutionary War was raging in the East, formidable Indian fighter George Rogers Clark invaded the Indian homelands of Ohio at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio Rivers with his force of Kentucky Long Knives, the feared name given by the Indians to the American Rangers who patrolled the Ohio River Valley during the Revolution.
Clark's force built military blockhouses as an outpost in present-day Cincinnati. This was the first white settlement in the region. ...'Cause I'm leavin' in the morning...This military invasion was revenge for raids on Kentucky settlements by Indian tribes such as the Shawnee, Delaware, and Wyandot who used Kentucky as hunting grounds and took a dim view to permanent white settlement there...I'm feelin' low. Oh, no, no, no! 
Other Indian tribes and septs had signed treaties in previous years, such as the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals which allowed some settlement in KY but some of the settlers set up shop outside of treaty guidelines and was considered squatting even by European-American law....'Cause I made your reservation...The US Government really didn't do much to stop this. Furthermore, many Indians did not recognize these treaties in the first place and led successful raids on settlements, trying to unsettle them by general killing, and taking horses and prisoners...'Til the morning brings the raid...Famed frontiersman Simon Kenton was captured in Ohio by the Shawnee while on his own retaliatory raid on Indians. This revenge warfare situation caused much death, destruction, panic, fear, and chaos which Clark's team was sent to suppress. I'm feelin' low. Oh, no, no, no! 
It also gave the US an excuse to pave the way through Ohio to attack British held Detroit as it was difficult to enlist enough men to make that dangerous journey deep into Indian territory...And I must go, oh, no, no, no!
Clark's continuing raids met some losses but were mostly successful and forced the Shawnee to move their towns further north to present day Chillicothe and Piqua...We'll have time for coffee flavored kisses and a bit of conversation...This type of revenge warfare would continue in the area throughout the rest of the 18th century and into the early 19th century. And I don't know if I'm ever coming home...Take The Last Raid By Clark's Will...Take The Last Raid By Clark's Will

UPDATE:
In researching this event, I learned that an internment camp for Lochry's failed 1781 expedition was in Cleves OH. 64 captured militia were held in a British allied Indian camp. The ones who survived were taken to Canada. South of the junction of East Miami River Road and Jordan Road, Miami Township near Cleves. map 39.178547, -84.746475