Black Hawk War

Jake Paitel

History of Wisconsin

3/10/2013

Black Hawk War

In May of 1832 the Sac and Fox Indians were under the control of Black Hawk. Black Hawk led them through Iowa to Illinois to Wisconsin and that was a problem. These Native Americans had lost their Illinois lands in a disputed treaty signed in St. Louis in 1804. Their return to northern Illinois sparked widespread panic among white settlers, and Illinois Governor Reynolds quickly called up the militia, which included a young Abraham Lincoln. Gen. James Henry and Col. Henry Dodge finally caught up to Black Hawk's band just east of the Wisconsin River on July 21, 1832. Once found, the trail had been easy to follow. It was littered with pots, blankets, and other items that had been abandoned by Black Hawk's hungry followers in order to lighten their loads. Along the trail, the militiamen also found dozens of Sauks and Foxes, mostly old people and children who were suffering from starvation. Some of them were already dead; the rest were quickly killed. The advancing militiamen also encountered small groups of Sauk and Fox warriors who had stayed behind to slow their progress. Exhausted from the chase but exhilarated by the nearness of their enemy, the militiamen pressed on. Black Hawk's band had shrunk steadily over the three months between its peak size in late April and the Battle of Wisconsin Heights in late July. Most of the Winnebagoes and Potawatomis had drifted away, returning to their own villages. Some of the old people and children had died of starvation in the swamps near Lake Koshkonong and along the trail since. Following the Battle of Wisconsin Heights, a large group of Fox women and children tried to escape west of the Mississippi by using canoes to float down the Wisconsin; many of them were captured by Winnebago and Menominee warriors or shot by soldiers downstream, however. On the morning after the battle, after his failed effort at peace, Napope abandoned the band, slipping away to a...