New Vincennes Monument honors 186 Signers of Historic Oath of Allegiance
- Nathan Springfield
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
VINCENNES, Ind. (We Are Knox County) - For generations, the names of those who signed the Vincennes Oath of Allegiance were preserved only in historical documents.
Now, those names have a permanent place in the community through a new monument unveiled at the Old Cathedral’s French and Indian Cemetery in Vincennes.
The monument honors all 186 signers of the Vincennes Oath of Allegiance, recognizing the people connected to a moment in local history that dates back to the American Revolution.
The effort to create the monument was led by Joy Biggs, vice president of the Vincennes Historical and Antiquarian Society.
For Biggs, the project began with a personal discovery.
“I didn’t know that I had a French ancestor that signed the oath of allegiance,” Biggs said.
According to Biggs, her mother had told her their family included a fur trade trapper, but she did not know the full connection until later.
“When I joined DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), I found out that they had an oath of allegiance. And I thought, why didn’t I know about this?”
As Biggs researched the oath and the people connected to it, she found the names preserved in historical records but felt those names deserved a more visible place in the community.
“It was all in a book. And so I thought, well, we should put the names on a monument,” Biggs said.
In 2024, Biggs began the process of giving those names a permanent place in the community.
Over the next year and a half, Biggs and other members of the historical society worked to raise funds and develop the monument’s design.
“We preserve the history of the French. That’s what I really wanted. And I think, you know, we’ve done it,” Biggs said.
Richard Day, president of the Vincennes Historical and Antiquarian Society, said the document behind the monument represents an important moment in Indiana’s history.
“This is pretty much the document that signifies the participation of what is now the state of Indiana in the American Revolution,” Day said.
The Vincennes Oath of Allegiance was signed on July 20, 1778, by French inhabitants of Vincennes who were declaring where they stood during the Revolutionary War.
“They signed an oath of allegiance, rejecting their allegiance to King George III of England and announcing their allegiance to the Congress of the United States of America. So they were on line then as being part of the American Revolution here in the West,” Day said.
The oath was signed inside the original log church of St. Francis Xavier, which once stood near the site of today’s Old Cathedral.
Nearly 250 years later, the monument gives the names of those signers a place where they can be seen and remembered by future generations.
For Biggs, she hopes visitors will take time to learn more about the people behind the names.
“Just come out and, you know, maybe find an ancestor on the monument,” she said.
The monument is now open to the public and can be visited in the French and Indian Cemetery next to the Old Cathedral.
Visitors can also learn more about the Vincennes Oath of Allegiance through an exhibit featuring historical information and copies of the original document at the Old Cathedral Library and Museum, located in the courtyard behind the church.
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