2017 George Rogers Clark National Historical Park - SF - Silver Proof in Capsule

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park commemorates the American victory over the British at Fort Sackville in southwestern Indiana during the American Revolution on February 25, 1779. George Rogers Clark led the Americans on a grueling mid-winter march of over 150 miles to the fort at Vincennes next to the Wabash River. For much of the journey, Clark’s men waded through areas flooded with icy water.

Clark’s capture of the fort was one of the most significant events of the American Revolution, since it struck at the heart of the British occupation of the American Midwest. By defeating the British, Clark restricted the British influence in the frontier lands and bolstered U.S. claims to what became the Northwest Territory (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota).

The George Rogers Clark Memorial, which was dedicated in 1936, is the largest federal monument outside of Washington, D.C. It features a bronze statue of Clark by Hermon A. MacNeil and seven 28-foot-tall murals by Ezra Winter that honor Clark’s capture of the fort and its importance to American history.

The reverse of the 2017 George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Quarter features Clark leading his men to Fort Sackville. They are wading through the flooded plains around the fort, with muskets at the ready.