Pierre Gibault
Father Pierre Gibault was a French Jesuit missionary in the country northwest of the Ohio River, leading several parishes which included Vincennes, Kaskaskia, and Cahokia. As a priest on the frontier where Indian raids encouraged by the British were frequent, Gibault traveled between his parishes well-armed, and was known to use his weapons to defend himself when necessary.
His influence among the settlers and Indians in the area was considerable, and the British authorities in Detroit who oversaw the region for the Crown were wary of the unpredictable priest. When George Rogers Clark entered the region intent on driving the British out using troops from Virginia, Gibault rallied to his side.
Gibault first took the settlement of Vincennes without firing a shot by converting his parishioners to the American side of the conflict, forcing the weak garrison of Fort Sackville to withdraw. When the British retook Fort Sackville, led by Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton, they seized a Spanish citizen as a prisoner. Gibault forced his release by denying the British supplies, and the freed prisoner bore the news of the British position and strength to Clark, who later retook the fort in the winter of 1779.
Catholic clergy disavowed themselves of Gibault for his mercenary activities and the priest continued his religious duties following the war without portfolio or support from the American government he had served. Despite receiving the support and endorsement of George Washington, Gibault was never compensated by the Americans for either his work supporting the Revolution or the expenses he incurred.
Eventually he relocated to the Missouri Territory, where he died in 1802. The Jesuit Order which he served had his body removed to Canada for burial, but the whereabouts of his gravesite are unknown today.