1778 ... During the American Revolutionary War, Colonel George Rodgers Clark and his "Virginia Long Knives" defeated the British in the Illinois Country at Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher and Cahokia. On July 4, 1778 they took Kaskaskia by surprise, rang the village bell in celebration of their victory and it soon became known as the "Liberty Bell of the West." The Illinois Country became American and several of Clark's soldiers of English, Irish and Scottish descent, settled in the American Bottoms and along the Kaskaskia Cahokia Trail after the war. (next)

Church of the Holy Family in Cahokia

The James Moore Cabin in Waterloo

The Jarrot Mansion in Cahokia

Colonel George Rogers Clark Captures Kaskaskia in 1778