having entered Panama in disguise, he was recog- nized, arrested, and, after a short trial, hanged be- fore the palace of the audiencia.
VINCENNES, Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur
de, Canadian explorer, b. in Quebec in January,
1688; d. in Illinois in 1736. He was the tenth
son of Francois Bissot, a rich merchant of Quebec
and owner of a Canadian seigniory, and a near
relative to the explorer Louis Joliet — some say his
nephew, others his brother-in-law. He fought
against the Iroquois at Mackinaw at the age of
ten, entered the Canadian army as ensign in 1701,
and was employed in the west. In 1704 he was
sent to the Miami country, where he rendered valu-
able services to the crown, rescuing some Iroquois
Eioneers from the Ottawas, and otherwise greatly
efriending the Indians. In 1712 he saved De-
troit from the invasion of the Fox Indians, but
came afterward in collision with La Mothe Cadil-
lac, the commander of that place, who asked for
his recall. Vincennes's fault was overlooked, ow-
ing to his services, and, becoming reconciled with
Cadillac, he became afterward the latter's most
trusted lieutenant. He was employed successively
in the Miami country, in Ohio, and in Michigan,
but toward 1725 resided on the present site of the
city of Vincennes, which is named in his honor,
and built there an earth fort and a trading-post.
Early in 1736 he was sent to assist in the. expedi-
tion against the Chickasaws. Mustering about 100
Miami Indians, he joined D'Artaguette and they
entered the territory of the Chickasaws by way of
Illinois, and were to co-operate with an invading
column from Louisiana. The latter expedition
failed, but D'Artaguette and Vincennes, unaware
of the danger, pushed forward. Meanwhile the
Chickasaws collected all their forces and attacked,
but were repelled with great loss, and the French
captured several villages. But the Chickasaws
brought about the desertion of the Miamis, and
the invaders were finally defeated, nearly all being
killed or taken prisoners. D'Artagnette, Vincen-
nes, Father Senat, and others were burned at the
stake in the principal village of the Chickasaws.
VINCENT, Charles (van-song), Baron de St.,
West Indian soldier, b. in Jeremie, Hayti, in 1739:
d. in Leogane in October, 1794. He entered the
military service, fought in this country under
Rochambeau in 1780-'l, and after the conclusion
of peace commanded a regiment in Tobago and
Martinique. In 1787 he was appointed governor
and commander-in-chief at Cape Francais, where
he took an active part in the civd wars that deso-
lated the colony, put down the rebellion of Vin-
cent Oge and Chavannes, and checked the revolu-
tionary movement that was led by Jean Francois
and Jean Biassou. He sided afterward with Gov.
Galband against Commissioner Etienne Polverel,
and was taken prisoner at Cape Francais, but par-
doned by Polverel on account of his military tal-
ents. St. Vincent was sent to oppose the progress
of the British, who had landed at Jeremie, 19 Sept.,
1793, and drove them from Tiburon, but was de-
feated at Leogane, and killed in the action.
YINCENT, Francis, journalist, b. in Bristol,
England, 17 March, 1822; d. in Wilmington, Del.,
23 June, 1884. He was partly educated in Eng-
land, emigrated at an early age to Dover, Del.,
where he acquired a knowledge of the classics,
was apprenticed to the proprietor of the " Dela-
ware Gazette" in 1839, and on 22 Aug., 1845,
began the publication in Wilmington of a news-
paper which he called the " Blue Hen's Chicken,"
from a designation that was given to the Delaware
soldiers in the Revolution on account of their
fighting qualities. He advocated representation
according to population, election of all officers by
the people, simplification of legal procedure, the
abolition of the whipping-post and of lotteries,
universal common-school education, the submis-
sion of important laws to the popular vote, exemp-
tion of household goods and tools from seizure
for debt, the ten - hour working-day, and other
changes in the constitution and statute law of
Delaware. His projects met with opposition from
the leaders of parties, but gained ground among
the people. In 1850 the Democrats accepted his
proposition for a constitutional convention, which
met on 4 March, 1853, and adopted the elective
principle and other reforms, but left representa-
tion disproportionate. Many who approved re-
vision voted against the instrument, with the ex-
pectation of ultimately securing a better one, but
after Vincent sold his paper in 1854 the agita-
tion ceased until he temporarily revived the ques-
tion in 1862, when he had purchased the "Com-
monwealth," and changed its name to the " Blue
Hen's Chicken." He was a member of the Re-
publican party from its first organization in Dela-
ware, and strongly supported the government in
his journal until he disposed of it in September,
1864. He began the publication of "Vincent's
Semi- Annual Register in 1860, but discontinued
it at the beginning of the war. He addressed to
the Cobden club an "Essay recommending the
Union of Great Britain and her Colonies and the
United States, and the Final Union of the World
into One Great Nation " (Wilmington, 1868). This
scheme he discussed further in a paper that he pre-
sented to the European league of peace at its meet-
ing at Paris in 1870. In July, 1871, he published
a plan for a railroad from New York to London by
way of Bering strait, which he also laid before
the New York chamber of commerce and the Na-
tional board of trade in Baltimore. He wrote a
" History of Delaware " (Philadelphia, 1870-'l).
VINCENT, Frank, traveller, b. in Brooklyn,
N. Y., 2 April, 1848. He was educated at Yale,
from which college he received the honorary de-
gree of A. M. in 1875, and was engaged during a
period of eleven years in travel and exploration in
all parts of the world. Mr. Vincent is a member
of many geographical, ethnological, and archaeo-
logical societies, and has received decorations from
the kings of Burmah, Cambodia, and Siam. His
valuable collection of Siamese and Cambodian anti-
quities and art and industrial objects he presented
in 1884 to the Metropolitan museum of art, New
York city. The ruined temples and palaces of
Cambodia and Cochin China were described for
the first time in his book entitled " The Land of
the White Elephant " (New York, 1874). Among
his other works are " Through and Through the
Tropics " (1876) ; " Two Months in Burmah " (1877) ;
" The Wonderful Ruins of Cambodia " (1878) ;
"Norsk, Lapp, and Finn" (1881); "Around and
about South America " (1888) ; and " The Republics
of Central America" (1889).
VINCENT, John, British soldier, b. in England in 1765; d. in London. England, 21 June, 1848. He entered the British army as ensign in July, 1781, was made, a lieutenant in August of the following year, and became a captain in October, 1786. He attained the grade of major in Way, 1795, in January, 1800, that of lieutenant-colonel, in July, 1810, that of colonel, and in June, 1813, was made a major-general. He was one of the ablest British officers in Canada during the war of 1812— '15. He was commandant of Fort George, and when compelled to evacuate that post, in 1813,
