As the United States expanded westwards, Native Americans were subjected to cultural genocide, foreign diseases, and territorial loss. Faced with destruction and herded onto reservations, many Native Americans resisted what was happening to them and decided to take action.
In 1832, a Sauk leader named Black Hawk left the Iowa Indian Territory with a band of Native Americans from various tribes and crossed the Mississippi into the American territory of Illinois. Thus, a frontier war would precipitate, and thousands of lives would change.
The Treaty of St. Louis
The precipitation for the Black Hawk War began with imperial ambitions on the North American continent. Eight hundred twenty-eight thousand eight hundred square miles of land that would encompass the Louisiana Purchase was ceded by France to Spain and then given back to France in 1800. With the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, the question of a French empire in North America arose.
This alarmed the US president, Thomas Jefferson, who wanted continuous westward expansion for the United States to counter Napoleon’s imperial ambitions. Thus, he pushed for the Native Americans to cede land east of the Mississippi River.
Six nations ceded land from 1801 to 1803, but the Sauk and Fox people refused to entertain negotiations. They already bore the scars of American aggression. American forces razed the Sauk capital of Saukenuk during the Revolutionary War as a response to some Sauk people helping the British. As a result, the Sauk were already on bad terms with the United States.
In 1803, however, Napoleon was in financial difficulty, and his dream of establishing an empire in North America came to a halt when he sold the Louisiana Purchase land to the United States.
In 1804, a treaty was signed, which many Sauk did not consider valid. Sauk and Fox leaders led by Quashquame, a Sauk chief, signed the Treaty of St. Louis with the United States and agreed to cede vast tracts of lands for a relatively small price of $2,200 (around $55,000 today) in goods and an additional $1,000 (around $25,000 today) annual payment.
The US Senate ratified the treaty in January 1805, but many Sauk and Fox refused to accept its validity. They claimed that those who had signed it on behalf of the Native Americans did not have the authority to do so because they didn’t have permission from their respective tribal councils.
It has been argued that there was confusion and anger surrounding the terms of the treaty. Given the small price the Americans paid, historian Robert Owens argues that the Native Americans had no intention of giving up the land, while Patrick Jung argues that the chiefs intended to cede a small amount of land but that the treaty caused confusion as to the amount of land that was to be ceded.
The Sauks continued to live on the land that was ceded, and it has been argued that they did not realize that the land was now claimed by the United States. American colonists flooded into the new territory. Many paid little attention to which land belonged to whom and settled on land the Sauk and Fox considered their own. According to the treaty, the Native Americans were allowed to stay on the land until it had been purchased by private owners.
To make matters worse, the Americans were also giving support to the Osage tribe, which was in a state of war with the Sauk and Fox. The Americans even intervened and stopped a Sauk and Fox war party from attacking their Osage neighbors.
Burgeoning Resistance
In September 1804, an altercation turned violent, and three American settlers were killed by Sauk warriors who considered their victims to be trespassing. News of the incident spread like wildfire, and rumors began that the Sauk and Fox were forming an alliance with other tribes to eject the settlers on the frontier. Tensions continued for decades, and in 1828, the Americans began to press their claim further, prospecting for colonial settlement.
The Sauks were split in terms of how to respect the treaty. Some thought the better option was simply to relocate, even if they disagreed with the treaty. They were of the mind that there was no way they could oppose the might of the United States.
Others were not so accommodating and planned to defy the Americans and their treaty. Around 800 Sauk joined Black Hawk, a warrior who rose to be the leader of the faction wanting to resist American colonialism. His rival, Keokuk, led the majority of the Sauk away from confrontation.
In the spring of 1831, Black Hawk returned to the village of Saukenuk and planted crops. Volunteer militia responded and advanced on the village, but when they arrived, they found fresh footprints and an abandoned town. The militia then trampled the crops, burnt the lodges, and desecrated the graves.
The “British Band”
Black Hawk and his band often flew a British flag to signal their defiance of the United States and, as such, became known as the “British Band.” In challenging the US treaty, the British Band started to attract like-minded individuals, notably from the Kickapoo, the Ho-Chunk, and the Potawatomi tribes.
They were invited to stay at a settlement under the control of White Cloud of the Winnebago Ho-Chunks. Although Black Hawk did not want a war, he was prepared to defend his people for the sake of justice. He was also under the impression that if a war broke out, the British would use the situation to declare war on the United States. Thus, the British Band was in high spirits regarding their chances of victory.
Meanwhile, the US Army and state militia were mobilizing and preparing for conflict as they assumed the British Band was hostile. The government responded to Illinois governor John Reynolds’s call for assistance, and eventually, a third of the army was committed to resolving the conflict. Militia companies also contained Native American warriors from the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Potawatomi, and Sioux peoples. Overall command was in the hands of Brigadier General Henry Atkinson.
Fearing the inevitable conflict and realizing that British assistance would not be forthcoming, the Ho-Chunk refused to allow Black Hawk’s people to settle in their village. To make matters worse, the Potawatomi chiefs also denied aid.
The Fighting Begins
In mid-May, the British Band became aware of a group of 200 to 300 militiamen nearby. Black Hawk sent emissaries to treat with the militia, but nobody in the militia spoke Sauk. Instead, the militiamen followed Black Hawk’s men and attacked their camp. The militia, however, were badly disorganized, and the attack was a disaster. Twelve militiamen were killed while the British Band lost three to five killed in what became known as the Battle of Stillman’s Run.
Black Hawk’s men had approached the militia under a flag of truce, and their trust had been betrayed. Black Hawk, who had not been fully committed to war until this point, now realized that further conflict was unavoidable.
After the Battle of Stillman’s Run, raids were sprung east of the Mississippi as Native Americans who may or may not have been connected with the British Band attacked settler villages and outposts.
The war also provided a context for other grievances to be acted upon. A settler named William Davis had dammed a creek in the spring of 1832 and prevented fish from reaching a Potawatomi village. When the Potawatomi villagers protested, Davis ignored their pleas and assaulted a man who tried to dismantle the dam. Seeking revenge, on May 21, around fifty Potawatomis and three Sauks from the British Band raided Davis’ settlement, killing and mutilating fifteen people, including women and children. Two teenage girls were taken prisoner, but Ho-Chunk chief White Crow was able to negotiate their release.
Meanwhile, the warriors of the British Band maneuvered around the area east of the Mississippi, tying down their enemies and creating opportunities for the British Band noncombatants to escape westwards. American settlers also evacuated the area, fleeing to the safety of Chicago.
The US forces were reorganized at this time, and in June 1832, the “Army of the Frontier” was created. It consisted of three brigades for almost 4,000 men, most of whom were mounted militia volunteers.
By June, Black Hawk’s army was in desperate need of provisions. With 200 men, Black Hawk raided a stockade on the Apple River and then attempted to ambush US forces in the area. A series of skirmishes followed, and the British Band suffered at least nine killed.
Out of combat, US forces were also suffering, and many soldiers succumbed to a cholera outbreak during June and July.
Wisconsin Heights and Bad Axe
After a clash at Pecatonica on June 16, 1832 between US forces and Kickapoo, loosely affiliated with the British Band, the US militia was able to pick up Black Hawk’s trail and pursue the British Band up Rock River.
Black Hawk’s forces, now starving, were preparing to escape across the Wisconsin River when around 600 to 750 troops under the command of Colonel Henry Dodge and militia leader James D. Henry arrived with the intent to force battle.
The Battle of Wisconsin Heights was a rearguard action for Black Hawk’s men. The militia had the high ground, while the British Band struck from the ravines below in an attempt to buy time for the rest of the party to cross the river.
Sauk and Fox’s dead were counted at 70, whereas the militia lost only one dead and seven wounded.
The final action of the Black Hawk War came two weeks later. On August 1, Black Hawk’s band of around 500 people, including women and children, reached the east bank of the Mississippi with the intention to cross over to safety. Their path was blocked by a steamboat, Warrior, bearing cannons.
Black Hawk attempted to surrender, but his overtures went unheeded, and the boat opened fire on the Sauk and Fox, who were unprepared for such an engagement. After a two-hour battle, over twenty Native Americans had been killed before the steamboat ran out of supplies and continued downriver.
By this point, Black Hawk was convinced that it was better to flee northwards than across the river, but the main body of his band disagreed and made further attempts to cross the Mississippi. Nevertheless, Black Hawk took around three dozen warriors northwards.
As dawn broke the next day, the US forces broke camp and searched for their quarry. They found the rearguard of Black Hawk’s forces and engaged them while the main body of Black Hawk’s band tried to cross the river. Black Hawk tried to lure the US forces away from the main body and was initially successful.
US militia, however, discovered the trail that led to the main body. Scouts tried to slow the advance of the US troops, but the gunboat returned and opened fire. The next eight hours were a massacre as US troops butchered their enemies. Men, women, and children were shot and scalped.
Virtually the entirety of what was left of the British Band was killed. Black Hawk fled to the northeast but surrendered later that month.
Aftermath
Black Hawk was taken prisoner and sent to meet with President Andrew Jackson, after which he, along with other prominent figures in the war, were sent on a tour of the United States and drew large crowds wherever they went. Some crowds cheered while others jeered and burnt effigies of the prisoners.
Eventually, Black Hawk was released, and he lived the rest of his days with the Sauk by the Iowa River.
The Sauk and Fox, as well as the Ho-Chunk who had aided Black Hawk, were subjected to harsh treaties and forced into being dependent on the United States.
Atkinson was subject to harsh criticism for mishandling the conflict with later President Zachary Taylor, who had served under him, commenting that the entire issue could have been resolved with all the Native Americans being relocated and without a shot being fired.
The Black Hawk War was one of many conflicts that characterized the westward expansion of the United States. Precipitated by colonial endeavors and an inability to co-exist, the Black Hawk War serves as a reminder of the murderous policies of US expansion, as well as a rallying cry and a point of remembrance for Native Americans and those who wish to understand the devastating effect the United States had on the Indigenous peoples of North America.
