The Black Hawk War

In 1832, a conflict broke out, between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The brief conflict was known as The Black Hawk War. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos, who were known as the British Band, crossed the Mississippi River, into the state of Illinois, from Iowa Indian Territory in April 1832. Black Hawk’s motives for the conflict were vague, but he was apparently hoping to avoid bloodshed while secretly resettling on the former tribal land that had been surrendered to the United States in the 1804 Treaty of Saint Louis. Of course. the treaty had been disputed by the Native Americans since its inception.

While it really wasn’t accurate, the US officials were convinced that the British Band was hostile. So, they mobilized a frontier militia and opened fire on a delegation from the Native Americans on May 14, 1832. That caused Black Hawk to return fire, successfully attacking the militia at the Battle of Stillman’s Run. Then, he led his band to a secure location in what is now southern Wisconsin, where they were pursued by US forces. Meanwhile, there were raids by other Native Americans tribes against forts and settlements that had been left largely unprotected with the absence of US troops. Some Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi warriors with grievances against European Americans also took part in these additional raids, although most of the tribal members tried to avoid the conflict. The Menominee and Dakota tribes were already at odds with the Sauks and Meskwakis, and they chose to support the US troops.

General Henry Atkinson, commanding officer of the US troops, tracked the British Band looking for the best place to engage in battle. Colonel Henry Dodge caught up with the British Band on July 21st. His troops defeated them at the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. By this time, Black Hawk’s band had been weakened by hunger, death, and desertion, so many of the native survivors retreated towards the Mississippi, just trying to stay alive. US soldiers attacked the remnants of the British Band again on August 2nd, at the Battle of Bad Axe, killing many or capturing most of those who were still alive. Black Hawk and some other leaders escaped, but later surrendered and were imprisoned for a year.

The Black Hawk War gave young Captain Abraham Lincoln his brief military service. Other future famous participants included Winfield Scott, Zachary Taylor, and Jefferson Davis. The war gave momentum to the US policy of Indian removal, in which Native American tribes were pressured to sell their lands and move west of the Mississippi River and stay there. These were dark times in American history, and I think it is sad that we couldn’t just let the Native Americans share the land with us, but then, I don’t suppose the refusal to share was completely the fault of the White Man either.