In 1778, Captain James Willing and his crew sailed and rowed the bateaux Rattletrap down the Ohio River to the Mississippi.   A “left” turn of sorts then took them down the Mississippi all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.  Willing’s purpose was straightforward: secure the neutrality of residents along the Mississippi, obtain supplies from New Orleans, and return them to the new United States.  It was as tall an order as the Ohio and Mississippi were dangerous.   British rangers and their Native American allies closely watched both shores and would readily attack vulnerable river traffic.  Willing’s only refuge lay in a string of forts the Americans had established on the Ohio, but they did not extend very far.  He would have to make due with his crew and the two swivel guns that armed Rattletrap. Continue reading “Captain James Willing’s Mississippi Raid, Part 1” →