[103], After Stillman's defeat on May 14, the regulars and militia continued up the Rock River to search for Black Hawk. Some bands, remembering their loss to the Americans in the 1827 Winnebago War, decided to stay clear of the conflict. [138] The British Band, reduced to fewer than 600 people due to death and desertion, headed for the Mississippi River as the militia approached. [195] The tribe was compelled to sell their remaining land west of the Mississippi in a treaty held in Chicago in September 1833. Black Hawk's band was weakened by hunger, death, and desertion, and many native survivors retreated towards the Mississippi. When the Sauks returned to the village in 1829 after their annual winter hunt in the west, they found that it had been occupied by white squatters who were anticipating the sale of land. [50] Native Americans sometimes resented American mediation, especially young men, for whom warfare was an important avenue of social advancement. [112] This force included about eighty Dakotas under Wabasha and L'Arc, forty Menominees, and several bands of Ho Chunks. "Indeed," writes Trask, "most of the reconstructed memory of the Black Hawk War has been designed to make white people feel good about themselves. Only about 50 people, including Wabokieshiek, agreed to go with him; the others remained, determined to cross the Mississippi and return to Sauk territory. Commanded by General Henry Atkinson, the U.S. forces tracked the British Band. Some Menominee scouts remained, but most of the Natives eventually left Hamilton and fought the war on their own terms. American forces had occupied Kellogg's Grove in an effort to intercept war parties raiding to the west. Originally from the Lake Huron and Lake Michigan area, they were forcibly relocated to Oklahoma in the 1870s and are predominantly Sauk. The life and adventures of Black Hawk: with sketches of Keokuk, the Sac and Fox Indians, and the late Black Hawk war. [162] The group tracked down about ten Sauks, only two of whom were warriors. With a force of about 400 regulars and 900 militiamen, the Americans crossed the Wisconsin River on July 27 and resumed the pursuit of the British Band. [17] Like Keokuk, Black Hawk was not a civil chief, but he became Keokuk's primary rival for influence within the tribe. The leader of this group was Keokuk, who had helped defend Saukenuk against the Americans during the War of 1812. Militia under Colonel Henry Dodge caught up with the British Band on July 21 and defeated them at the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. [96] The Black Hawk War provided the Indian Creek Potawatomis with an opportunity for revenge. [171] Colonel Zachary Taylor took custody of the prisoners, and sent them by steamboat to Jefferson Barracks, escorted by Lieutenants Jefferson Davis and Robert Anderson. The Indian agent was himself killed and mutilated, along with three other men, several days later at Kellogg's Grove. [47] Tribes along the Upper Mississippi had long fought for control of diminishing hunting grounds, and the Black Hawk War provided an opportunity for some Natives to resume a war that had nothing to do with Black Hawk. After Andrew Jackson assumed the U.S. presidency in March 1829, many competent Indian agents were replaced by unqualified Jackson loyalists, argues historian John Hall. [149], The Americans, however, had no intentions of letting the British Band escape. [169], After the Battle of Bad Axe, Black Hawk, Wabokieshiek, and their followers traveled northeast to seek refuge with the Ojibwes. The Sac and Fox Nation (Mesquakie language: Thakiwaki or Sa ki wa ki) is the largest of three federally recognized tribes of Sauk and Meskwaki (Fox) Indian peoples.Originally from the Lake Huron and Lake Michigan area, they were forcibly relocated to Oklahoma in the 1870s and are predominantly Sauk.. [60] Reynolds, who was eager for a war to drive the Indians out of the state, responded as Atkinson had hoped: he called for militia volunteers to assemble at Beardstown by April 22 to begin a thirty-day enlistment. Jung, 166; Nichols, 133. [95] One such incident was the Indian Creek massacre. Most of the prisoners were released in the succeeding months, but in April 1833, Black Hawk, Wabokieshiek, Neapope, and three others were transferred to Fort Monroe in Virginia, which was better equipped to hold prisoners. Harrington, George B. [158], The battle was another lopsided victory for the Americans, who lost just 14 men, including one Menominee who died by friendly fire and was buried with honors alongside the white soldiers. [126], The next day, June 25, Black Hawk's party encountered a militia battalion commanded by Major John Dement. It began at the time when war memories and ideals were rapidly passing; a day of astonishing commercial development was dawning; a sense of doubt and hesitation overtook the freedmen’s sons,—then it was that his leading began. The testimony examined the federal government's management of water and natural resources of the Sac and Fox Nation. [90] With the non-combatants secure, members of the British Band, with a number of Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi allies, began raiding white settlers. [192] Their last lands in Iowa were sold in 1842, and most of the Natives moved to a reservation in Kansas. The British Band was reduced to roughly 500 people by this time, including about 150 warriors. [178] Reaction in the west, however, was less welcoming. Some said that the British Band intended to reoccupy Saukenuk, while others said that the destination was Prophetstown. [29] This time, underbrush had grown to impede the militiamen from landing, so the next day the militia tried to assault Saukenuk itself, only to find that Black Hawk and his followers had abandoned the village and recrossed the Mississippi. Henry Dodge, a Michigan territorial militia colonel who would prove to be one of the best commanders in the war,[109] fielded a battalion of mounted volunteers that numbered 250 men at its strongest. In a brief battle, the Americans killed and scalped all of the Natives. Black Hawk responded by successfully attacking the militia at the Battle of Stillman's Run. [94], The Ho-Chunks and Potawatomis who took part in the war were sometimes motivated by grievances not directly related to Black Hawk's objectives. [151] Black Hawk raised a white flag in an attempt to surrender, but his intentions may have been garbled in translation. The creature was described as hawk-like, with metal claws that aimed at scratching victim faces, leaving them writhing with pain. Senators took part, as did four future Illinois governors; future governors of Michigan, Nebraska, and the Wisconsin Territory; and two future U.S. presidents, Taylor and Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln, for example, reenlisted as a private in an independent company that was taken into federal service. [166], The Black Hawk War resulted in the deaths of 77 white settlers, militiamen, and regular soldiers. [73], Without British supplies, adequate provisions, or Native allies, Black Hawk realized that his band was in serious trouble. 2011 Oklahoma Indian Nations Pocket Pictorial Directory. [66], Meanwhile, Black Hawk learned that the Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi tribes were less supportive than anticipated. By June 6, agent Joseph M. Street had assembled about 225 Natives at Prairie du Chien. Atkinson had allowed Reynolds, Whiteside, and the militiamen to leave up the Rock River on April 27, while he brought up the rear with the regular soldiers, directing his least trained and disciplined men—to "move upon the Indians should they be within striking distance without waiting for my arrival". Conditions of Use; Privacy Notice; Interest-Based Ads © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates Before the Black Hawk War, U.S. policy discouraged intertribal warfare. On May 10 the militia marching up the Rock River in pursuit of the British Band reached Prophetstown (about 35 miles from their starting point at the confluence). They attended dinners and plays, and were shown a battleship, various public buildings, and a military parade. The Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1934 was passed by its legislature in a similar effort. [117], Responding to this attack, militia Colonel Henry Dodge gathered a force of twenty-nine mounted volunteers and set out in pursuit of the attackers. The two tribes had become closely connected after having been displaced from the Great Lakes region in conflicts with New France and other Native American tribes, particularly after the so-called Fox Wars ended in the 1730s. On about August 9, in the final engagement of the war,[164] they attacked the remnants of the British Band along the Cedar River, killing 68 and taking 22 prisoners. [5] By the time of the Black Hawk War, the population of the two tribes was about 6,000 people. [1] A council of five elected officials, each elected for a four-year term, govern the tribe. Buckley, 172–75; Hall, 77–78, 100–02. government. [51], The situation was complicated by the American spoils system. [43] Now, instead of telling Black Hawk to turn back, Wabokieshiek told him that, as long as the British Band remained peaceful, the Americans would have no choice but to let them settle at Prophetstown, especially if the British and the area tribes supported the band. The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. Many settlers fled to Chicago, then a small town, which became overcrowded with hungry refugees. In retaliation, a party of Meskwakis and Sauks killed twenty-six Menominees, including women and children, at Prairie du Chien in July 1831. The US Supreme Court ruled in the tribe's favor of its independent sovereignty on May 17, 1993, in Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Sac & Fox Nation. He is possibly best known for his opposition to slavery, and put an end to it while preserving the Union immediately following the American Civil War. [88] After Stillman's defeat, American leaders like President Jackson and Secretary of War Lewis Cass refused to consider a diplomatic solution; they wanted a resounding victory over Black Hawk to serve as an example to other Native Americans who might consider similar uprisings. [25] American officials determined to force the British Band out of the state. Then and later, argues Trask, white Americans absolved themselves of complicity in the dispossession of Native Americans by expressing admiration or sympathy for defeated Indians like Black Hawk. They were upset at having missed the chance to fight their old enemies, and so on August 10, General Scott sent 100 of them after a part of the British Band that had escaped. [35] His village, Prophetstown, was about thirty-five miles up the Rock River from Saukenuk. [185] In September 1832, General Scott and Governor Reynolds conducted a treaty with the Ho-Chunks at Rock Island. [139] The Americans pursued them, killing and scalping several Native stragglers along the way. [196], 1832 conflict between the United States and Native Americans. Past and Present of, Prophetstown State Park brochure, available at, William V. Pooley, Settlement of Illinois, 1830-1850 (Thesis submitted to the University of Wisconsin in 1905; printed at Ann Arbor, Michigan, University Microfilms in 1968) p. 147, "Battle of Stillman's Run" in William B. Kessell, Encyclopedia of Native American Wars and Warfare (2005), available online. Thakiwaki and Sa ki wa ki mean "people coming forth from the water". [42], As the British Band moved into Illinois, American officials urged Wabokieshiek to advise Black Hawk to turn back. Black Hawk's handsome son Nasheweskaska (Whirling Thunder) was a particular favorite. Because he had few troops at his disposal, Atkinson hoped to get support from the Illinois state militia. [31], In late 1831, Neapope, a Sauk civil chief, returned from Fort Malden and told Black Hawk that the British and the other Illinois tribes were prepared to support the Sauks against the United States. The treaty became controversial because the Native leaders had not been authorized by their tribal councils to cede lands. [121], Back on June 6, when a civilian miner was killed by raiders near the village of Blue Mounds in the Michigan Territory, residents began to fear that the Rock River Ho-Chunks were joining the war. [1], The tribe's housing authority is located in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt established what was called an "Indian New Deal", passing a law to encourage tribes to re-establish self-government. [99] Like other Rock River Ho-Chunks, White Crow was trying to placate the Americans while clandestinely aiding the British Band. Task & Purpose provides military news, culture, and analysis by and for the military and veterans community. Hoping to avoid further confrontations, Keokuk told Forsyth that he and his followers would not return to Saukenuk. Some militiamen claimed they never saw a white flag; others believed that the flag was a ruse the Indians used to set an ambush. [100], News of Stillman's defeat, the Indian Creek massacre, and other smaller attacks triggered panic among the white population. [48], After having displaced the British as the dominant outside power following the War of 1812, the United States had assumed the role of mediator in intertribal disputes. [137] Dodge and James D. Henry set out in pursuit from Fort Winnebago on July 15. [56] Atkinson was a middle-aged officer who had ably handled administrative and diplomatic tasks, most notably during the 1827 Winnebago War, but he had never seen combat. Eby, 79, echoed the argument. [36] The village was inhabited by about 200[16] Ho-Chunks, Sauks, Meskwakis, Kickapoos, and Potawatomis who were dissatisfied with tribal leaders who refused to stand up to American expansion. Accounts of the battle vary. Under the Dawes Act of 1887, these tribal land holdings were divided into 160-acre allotments for individual households, intended to encourage the Indians to establish subsistence farming according to the European-American cultural ways. [40] Black Hawk's intentions upon reentering Illinois are not entirely clear, since reports from both white and Indian sources are conflicting. [186] The land in Iowa was known as the "Neutral Ground" because it had been designated in 1830 as a buffer zone between the Dakotas and their enemies to the south, the Sauks and Meskwakis. The state of Oklahoma tried to collect registration fees anyway, and the tribe sued. [12], The Sauks were divided about whether to resist implementation of the disputed 1804 treaty. [177] Beginning on June 4, 1833, Black Hawk and his companions were taken on a tour of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. The Warrior, a steamboat outfitted with an artillery piece, patrolled the Mississippi River, while American-allied Dakotas, Menominees, and Ho-Chunks watched the banks. Wearing white headbands to distinguish themselves from hostile Natives, Ho-Chunks and Potawatomis served as guides for Atkinson's army. [86], The Battle of Stillman's Run proved a turning point. In the First Battle of Kellogg's Grove, militia commanded by Adam W. Snyder pursued a British Band raiding party of about thirty warriors. [113] Although the Indian warriors followed their own leaders, Atkinson placed the force under the nominal command of William S. Hamilton, a militia colonel and a son of Alexander Hamilton. [44] Although the British Band traveled with armed guards as a security precaution, Black Hawk was probably hoping to avoid a war when he reentered Illinois. Keokuk was not a chief, but as a skilled orator, he often spoke on behalf of the Sauk civil chiefs in negotiations with the Americans. "Understanding the war between the States - Chapter 24", http://www.rockislandpreservation.org/postcards-from-home/view-of-vandruff-island-from-black-hawk-tower/, https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/publications/Documents/00000097.pdf, Turning Points in Wisconsin History: The Black Hawk War, Black Hawk's autobiography through the interpretation of Antoine LeClaire, The Black Hawk watch tower in the county of Rock Island, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Hawk_War&oldid=1004054622, Wars between the United States and Native Americans, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 450–600 killed (including non-combatants). Three Illinois militiamen and six Native warriors died in the fighting. At each place the vessels landed, the sick were deposited and soldiers deserted. [2] This figure does not include the deaths from cholera suffered by the relief force under General Winfield Scott. [136], In mid-July, Colonel Dodge learned from métis trader Pierre Paquette that the British Band was camped near the Rock River rapids, at present Hustisford, Wisconsin. [83] However, Black Hawk and others were nearby, and near dusk on May 14 attacked Stillman's party in what became known as the Battle of Stillman's Run. The militia was divided into three brigades commanded by Brigadier Generals Alexander Posey, Milton Alexander, and James D. Henry. Three militiamen and five or six Indians were killed in the action. Two militiamen were killed in the attack, one of whom was badly mutilated. General Edmund P. Gaines, commander of the Western Department of the United States Army, assembled troops with the hope of intimidating Black Hawk into leaving. Black Hawk had actually signed a treaty in May 1816 that affirmed the disputed 1804 land cession, but he insisted that what had been written down was different from what had been spoken at the treaty conference. The Battle of Apple River Fort lasted about forty-five minutes. In 1937, the Sac and Fox organized Under these laws and gained federal recognition as a tribe, with an independent relationship to the federal government. [8] According to Jung, the Sauks and Meskwakis did not learn the true extent of the cession until years later. The women and girls inside the fort, under the direction of Elizabeth Armstrong, loaded muskets and molded bullets. Huge crowds gathered to see them. [118] The Battle of Horseshoe Bend (or Battle of Pecatonica) was the first real American victory in the war, and helped restore public confidence in the volunteer militia force. [163], The Dakotas, who had volunteered 150 warriors to fight against the Sauks and Meskwakis, also arrived too late to participate in the Battle of Bad Axe, but they pursued the members of the British Band who made it across the Mississippi into Iowa. [69], Most Potawatomis wanted to remain neutral in the conflict, but found it difficult to do so. [6], As the United States colonized westward in the early 19th century, government officials sought to buy as much Native American land as possible. Why Neapope made these claims, which would prove to be unfounded, is unclear. Their current lands were part of the larger, historical Sac and Fox Reservation of 1867-1891, which was 480,000 acres (1,900 km2) and established by the United States to provide land to the tribes. When they became certain that the Natives on land were the British Band, they opened fire. [64] Kerry Trask, however, argued that Atkinson was correct in believing that he did not yet have enough troops to stop the British Band. [26] Illinois governor John Reynolds had already alerted the militia; about 1,500 volunteers turned out. Other tribes have since established their own systems for vehicle registration on tribal lands. [193], Thanks to the decision of Potawatomi leaders to aid the U.S. during the war, American officials did not seize tribal land as war reparations. In the Second Battle of Kellogg's Grove, Black Hawk's warriors drove the militiamen inside their fort and commenced a two-hour siege. Land remaining after the allotments was declared "surplus" by the US and sold, primarily to non-Natives. [188] Ho-Chunks remaining in Wisconsin were pressured to sign a removal treaty in 1837, even though leaders such as Waukon Decorah had been U.S. allies during the Black Hawk War. [6], By 1889 519 of the tribe were located in Indian Territory, what is now central Oklahoma. [102] Throughout the region, settlers hurriedly organized militia units and built small forts. In 1832 they participated in the Black Hawk War against the United States. [39] Numbering about 500 warriors and 600 non-combatants, they crossed near the mouth of the Iowa River over to Yellow Banks (present-day Oquawka, Illinois), and then headed north. These officers also testified to the lack of federal oversight and trust management responsibilities, including fraudulent real estate appraisals of their lands. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crossed the Mississippi River, into the U.S. state of Illinois, from Iowa Indian Territory in April 1832. Indian agent Thomas Forsyth informed the Sauks that they should vacate Saukenuk and their other settlements east of the Mississippi. This was a tactic often used when Native American leaders came to the East, because it was thought that a demonstration of the size and power of the United States would discourage future resistance to U.S. Rather than wait per Atkinson's plan, they burned White Cloud's empty village before proceeding about 40 miles upriver to Dixon's Ferry, where they waited for Atkinson and his troops. [191] The tribes sold the reservation to the United States in 1836, and additional land in Iowa the following year. . [15], Although the majority of the tribe decided to follow Keokuk's lead, about 800 Sauks—roughly one-sixth of the tribe—chose instead to resist American expansion. The first attack came on May 19, 1832, when Ho-Chunks ambushed six men near Buffalo Grove, Illinois, killing a man named William Durley. He apparently expected that the Americans were going to let his band recross the Mississippi unmolested. "[181] Black Hawk also became an admired symbol of resistance among Native Americans, even among descendants of those who had opposed him. [13] Most Sauks decided to relocate west of the Mississippi rather than become involved in a confrontation with the United States.
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