According to previous arrangements, the several brigades took up their
lines of march on the 10th of July, for their respective destinations.
Colonel Swing's regiment was sent back to Dixon as an escort for Captain
Dunn, who was supposed to be mortally wounded; General Posey marched to Fort
Hamilton, on the Pecatonica, as a guard to the frontier country. Henry,
Alexander and Dodge, with their commands, were sent to Fort Winnebago,
situate at the Portage between the Fox and the Wisconsin Rivers; while
General Atkinson himself fell back with the regular forces near to Lake
Koshkonong, and erected a fort, which he called by the name of the lake.
There he was to remain until the volunteer Generals could return with
supplies. Henry and Alexander made Fort Winnebago in three days, Major Dodge
having preceded them a few hours by a forced march, which so fatigued and
crippled his horses that many of them were unable to continue the campaign.
Their route had been in a direct line, a distance of eighty miles, through a
country which was remarkably swampy and difficult. On the night of the 12th
of July a stampede occurred among the horses. This is a general wild alarm,
the whole body of them breaking loose from their fastenings, and coursing
over the prairie at full speed. By this means a hundred or more of them were
lost or destroyed in the swamps, or on a log causeway three miles in length,
near the fort.
Two days were occupied at the fort in getting
provisions; on the last of which the Winnebago chiefs there reported that
Black Hawk and his forces were encamped at the Manitou village, thirty-five
miles above General Atkinson, on Rock River. In a council held between
Alexander, Henry and Dodge, it was determined to violate orders by marching
directly to the enemy, with the hope of taking him by surprise, or at least
putting him between them and General Atkinson, thus cutting off his further
retreat to the north. Twelve o'clock on the 15th was appointed as the hour
to march. General Henry proceeded at once to reorganize his brigade, with a
view to disencumber himself of his sick and dismounted men, that as little
as possible might impede the celerity of his march. General Alexander soon
announced that his men were unwilling, and had refused to follow; and Major
Dodge reported his horses so much disabled by their late march that he could
not muster a force worth taking along. General Henry was justly indignant at
the insubordination and defection of his companions in arms, and announced
his purpose to march in pursuit of the enemy alone, if he could prevail upon
but fifty men to follow him. But directly after this a company of mounted
volunteers, under the command of Captain Craig, from Apple River and Galena,
in Illinois, with fresh horses, arrived at Fort Winnebago to join Major
Dodge's battalion, which now made his force of men and horses fit for
service one hundred and twenty in the whole. General Henry's brigade,
exclusive of Dodge's battalion, amounted to between five and six hundred
men, but not more than four hundred and fifty had horses fit for service.
From this place General Henry took up his line of march on the 15th
of July, accompanied by Poquette, a half-breed, and the "White Pawnee," a
Winnebago chief, as guides, in quest in the Indians. On the route to the
head waters of Rock River he was frequently thrown from a direct line by
intervening swamps extending for miles. Many of them were crossed, but never
without difficulty and loss of horses. After three days' hard marching, his
forces encamped upon the beautiful stream of Rock River. This river is not
exceeded by any other in natural beauty. Its waters are clear; its bottom
and banks rocky or pebbly. The country on each side is either rolling, rich
prairie, or hills crowned with forests free from undergrowth, and its
current sweeps to the Mississippi, deep and bold. Here three Winnebagoes
gave intelligence that Black Hawk was encamped at Cranberry Lake, further up
the river. Relying upon this information, it was settled by General Henry to
make a forced march in that direction the next morning. Doctor Merryman, of
Springfield, and W. W. Woodbridge, of Wisconsin, were despatched as
expresses to General Atkinson. They were accompanied by a chief called
Little Thunder, as guide; and having started about dark, and proceeded on
their perilous route about eight miles to the south-west, they came upon the
fresh main trail of the enemy, endeavoring to escape by way of the Four
Lakes across the Wisconsin River.
At the sight of the trail the
Indian guide was struck with terror, and without permission retreated back
to the camp. Merriman and Woodbridge returned also, but not until Little
Thunder had announced his discovery in the Indian tongue to his countrymen,
who were in the very act of making their escape when they were stopped by
Maj. Murray McConnell, and taken to the tent of General Henry, to whom they
confessed that they had come into camp only to give false information, and
favor the retreat of the Indians; and then, to make amends for their
perfidy, and perhaps, as they were led to believe, to avoid immediate death,
they disclosed all they knew of Black Hawk's movements. General Henry
prudently kept the treachery of these Indians a secret from his men, for it
would have taken all his influence and that of all his officers to save
their lives if their perfidious conduct had been known throughout the camp.
The next morning (July 19) by daylight, everything was ready for a
forced march, but first another express was despatched to General Atkinson.
All cumbrous baggage was thrown away. The tents and most of the camp
equipage were left in a pile in the wilderness. Many of the men left their
blankets and all their clothes except the suit they wore, and this was the
case in every instance with those who had been so unfortunate as to lose
their horses. Such as these took their guns, ammunition and provisions upon
their backs, and traveled over mountain and plain, through swamp and
thicket, and kept up with the men on horseback. All the men now marched with
a better spirit than usual. The sight of the broad, fresh trail inspired
every one with a lively hope of bringing the war to a speedy end; and even
the horses seemed to share somewhat in the general ardor. There was no
murmuring, there was no excuse or complaining, and none on the sick report.
The first day, in the afternoon, they were overtaken by one of those storms
common on the prairies, black and terrific, accompanied by torrents of rain
and the most fearful lightning and thunder; but the men dashed on through
thickets almost impenetrable and swamps almost impassable, and that day
marched upwards of fifty miles. During this day's march, General Henry,
Major McConnell and others of the General's staff often dismounted and
marched on foot, giving their horses to the footmen.
That night the
storm raged till two o'clock in the morning. The men, exhausted with
fatigue, threw themselves supperless upon the muddy earth, covered with
water, for a little rest. The rain made it impossible to kindle a fire or to
cook, so that both officers and men contented themselves with eating some
raw meat and some of the wet flour which they earned in their sacks, and
which was converted into a soft dough by the drenching rains. A similar
repast- served them next morning for breakfast. The horses had fared but
little better than the men. The Government furnished nothing for them to
eat, and they were obliged to subsist that night upon a scanty grazing,
confined within the limits of the camp.
Next morning (July 20) the
storm had abated, and all were on the march by daylight, and after a march
as hard as that on the day before, the amiy encamped at night upon the banks
of one of the four lakes forming the source of the Catfish River in
Wisconsin, and near the place where the Indians had encamped the previous
night. At this place the men were able to make fires and cook their suppers,
and this they did with a hearty good will, having traveled about one hundred
miles without tasting anything but raw food, and without having seen a spark
of fire. That night they again laid upon the ground, many of them with
nothing but the sky for a covering, and slept soundly and sweetly, like men
upon their beds at home. All were in fine spirits and high expectation of
overtaking the Indians next day, and putting an end to the war by a general
1 tattle. The night did not pass, however, without an alarm. One of the
sentinels posted near the bank of the lake fired upon an Indian gliding in
his canoe slyly and steathily to the shore. Every man was aroused and under
aims in an instant, but nothing followed to continue the alarm. A small
black speck could be seen by aid of the star-light on the surface of the
lake, but no enemy was visible.
This day's march was still harder
than any which preceded it. The men on foot were forced into a run to keep
up with the advancing horsemen. The men on horseback carried their arms and
baggage for them by turns.
Major William Lee D. Ewing (since a Major
General) commanded the spy battalion, and with him was joined the battalion
of Major Dodge, of Wisconsin. These two officers, with their commands, were
in the advance; but with all their ardor they were never able to get out of
sight of the main body. General Henry, who remained with the main body,
dispatched Major McConnell with the advance guard, so as to get the earliest
intelligence of any unusual occurrence in front. About noon of this day the
advance guard was close upon the rear guard of the retreating enemy.
It is to be regretted that we have no account of the management, the
perils, and hair-breadth escapes of the Indians in conducting their retreat.
All that we know is that for many miles before they were overtaken their
broad trail was strewn with camp kettles and baggage of various kinds, which
they had thrown away in the hurry of their flight. The sight of these
articles encouraged Henry's men to press forward, hoping soon to put an end
to this vexatious border war which had so much disturbed the peace of our
Northern settlements. About noon, also, the scouts ahead came suddenly upon
two Indians, and as they were attempting to escape one of them was killed
and left dead on the field. Dr. Addison Philleo coming along shortly after
scalped this Indian, and for a long time afterward exhibited this scalp as
evidence of his valor. Shortly after this the rear guard of the Indians
began to make feint stands, as if to bring on a battle. In doing so, their
design was merely to gain time for the main body to secure a more
advantageous position. A few shots would be exchanged, and the Indians would
then push ahead, while the pursuing force would halt to form in the order of
battle. In this way the Indians were able to reach the broken ground on the
bluffs of the Wisconsin River by four o'clock in the afternoon, before they
were overtaken.
About this time, while the advanced guard was
passing over some uneven ground, through the high grass and low timber, they
were suddenly fired upon by a body of Indians who had here secreted
themselves. In an instant Major Ewing's battalion dismounted and were formed
in front, their horses being removed to the rear. The Indians kept up a fire
from behind fallen trees, and none of them could be discovered except by the
flash and report of their guns. In a few minutes General Henry arrived with
the main body, when the order of battle was formed.
Colonel Jones'
regiment was placed on the right, Colonel Collins' on the left, and Colonel
Fry's in the rear to act as a reserve. Major Ewing's battalion was placed in
front of the line, and Major Dodge's on the extreme right. In this order
General Henry's forces marched into battle. An order was given to charge
upon the enemy, which was handsomely obeyed by Ewing's battalion and Jones'
and Collins' regiments.
The Indians retreated before this charge
obliquely to the right, and concentrated their main force in front of
Dodge's battalion, showing a design to turn his flank. General Henry sent an
order by Major McConnell to Major Dodge, to advance to the charge; but this
officer being of the opinion that the foe was too strong for him, requested
a reinforcement. Colonel Fry's regiment was ordered to his aid, and formed
on his right. And now a vigorous charge was made from one end of the line to
the other.
Colonel Fry's regiment made a charge into the bush and
high grass where the Indians were concealed, and received the fire of their
whole body. The fire was briskly returned by Fry and Dodge and their men,
who continued to advance, the Indians standing their ground until the men
came within bayonet reach of them, then fell back to the west, along the
high, broken bluffs of the Wisconsin, only to take a new position among the
thick timber and tall grass in the head of a hollow leading to the Wisconsin
River bottom. Here it seemed they were determined to make a firm stand; but
being charged upon in their new position by Ewing's battalion and Collins'
and Jones' regiments, they were driven out of it, some of them being pursued
down the hollow, and others again to the west, along the Wisconsin heights,
until they descended the bluffs to the Wisconsin bottom, which was here
about a mile wide and very swampy, covered with thick, tall grass, above the
heads of men on horseback. It being now dark, further pursuit was stopped,
and General Henry and his forces lay upon the field of battle. That night
Henry's camp was disturbed by the voice of an Indian loudly sounding from a
distant hill, as if giving orders or desiring a conference. It afterward
appeared that this was the voice of an Indian chief, speaking in the
Winnebago language, stating that the Indians had their squaws and families
with them, that they were starving for provisions, and were not able to
fight the white people, and that if they were permitted to pass peaceably
over the Mississippi, they would do no more mischief. He spoke this in the
Winnebago tongue, in hopes that some of that people were with General Henry
and would act as his interpreter. No Winnebagoes were present, they having
run at the commencement of the fight, and so his language was never
explained until after the close of the war.
Next morning early
General Henry advanced to the Wisconsin River, and ascertained that the
Indians had all crossed it, and made their escape into the mountains between
that and the Mississippi. It was ascertained after the battle that the
Indian loss amounted to sixty-eight left dead on the field, and a large
number of wounded, of whom twenty-five were afterward found dead along the
Indian trail leading to the Mississippi. General Henry lost one man killed
and eight wounded. It appeared that the Indians, knowing they were to fight
a mounted force, had been trained to aim high, but as General Henry had
dismounted his forces and sent his horses to the rear, the Indians shot over
them. This will account for so few of Henry's men being killed or wounded.
After spending two days in preparation at the Blue Mounds, the whole
force, now under the direction of General Atkinson, was again on the march
in pursuit of the Indians. The Wisconsin River was crossed at Helena, and
the trail of the Indians struck in the mountains on the other side. Day
after day the whole force toiled in climbing and descending mountains
covered with dense forests, and passing through swamps of deep, black mud
lying in the intervening valleys. But the march was slow compared with that
preceding the battle of the Wisconsin. In this march were found, all along
the route, the melancholy evidences of the execution done in the battle. The
path of the retreating Indians was strewn with the wounded who had died on
the march, more from neglect and want of skill in dressing their wounds than
from the mortal nature of the wounds themselves. Five of them were found
dead in one place where the band had encamped for the night.
About
ten o'clock in the morning of the fourth day after crossing the Wisconsin,
General Atkinson's advance reached the bluffs on the east side of the
Mississippi. The Indians had reached the bank of the river some time before.
Some had crossed, and others were making preparations to cross it. The
steamboat "Warrior," commanded by Captain Throckmorton, descended to that
place the day before. As the steamboat neared the camp of the Indians, they
raised the white flag; but Captain Throckmorton, believing this to be
treacherously intended, ordered them to send a boat on board, which they
declined doing. In the flippant language of the Captain, after allowing them
fifteen minutes to remove their squaws and children, he let slip a
six-pounder at them, loaded with canister shot, followed by a severe fire of
musketry; "and if ever you saw straight blankets, you would have seen them
there." According to the Captain's account, the "fight" continued for an
hour, and cost the lives of twenty, three Indians, and a number wounded. The
boat then fell down the river to Prairie du Chien, and before it could
return the next morning, the land forces under General Atkinson had come up
and commenced a general battle.
It appears that the Indians were
encamped on the bank of the Mississippi, some distance below the mouth of
the Bad Axe River. They were aware that General Atkinson was in close
pursuit; and to gain time for crossing into the Indian country west of the
Mississippi, they sent back about twenty men to meet General Atkinson,
within three or four miles of their camp. This party of Indians were
instructed to commence an attack, and then to retreat to the river three
miles above their camp. Accordingly, when General Atkinson (the order of
march being as before), came within three or four miles of the river, he was
suddenly fired upon from behind trees and logs, the very tall grass aiding
the concealment of the attacking party. General Atkinson rode immediately to
the scene of action, and in person formed his lines and directed the charge.
The Indians gave way, and were pursued by General Atkinson with all the army
except Henry's brigade, which was in the rear, and in the hurry of pursuit
was left without orders. When Henry came up to the place where the attack
had been made, he saw clearly that the wily stratagem of the untutored
savage had triumphed over the science of a veteran General. The main trail
of the Indians was plain to be seen leading to the river lower down. He
called a hasty council of his principal officers, and by their advice
marched right forward upon the main trail. At the foot of the high bluff
bordering the river valley, on the edge of a swamp densely covered with
timber, drift-wood and underbrush, through which the trail led fresh and
broad, he halted his command and left his horses. The men were formed on
foot, and thus advanced to the attack. They were preceded by an advanced
guard of eight men, who were sent forward as a forlorn hope, and were
intended to draw the first fire of the Indians, and to disclose thereby to
the main body where the enemy was to be found, preparatory to a general
charge. These eight men advanced boldly some distance, until they came
within sight of the river, where they were fired upon by about fifty
Indians, and five of the eight instantly fell, wounded or dead. The other
three, protected behind trees, stood their ground until the arrival of the
main body under General Henry, which deployed to the right and left from the
centre. Immediately the bugle sounded a charge, every man rushed forward,
and the battle became general along the whole line. These fifty Indians had
retreated upon the main body, amounting to about three hundred warriors, a
force equal if not superior to that now confronting them. It soon became
apparent that they had been taken by surprise. They fought bravely and
desperately, but seemingly without any plan or concert of action. The bugle
again sounded the inspiring music of a charge. The Indians were driven from
tree to tree, and from one hiding-place to another. In this manner they
receded step by step, driven by the advancing foe, until they reached the
bank of the river. Here a desperate struggle ensued, but it was of short
duration. The bloody bayonet, in the hands of excited and daring men,
pursued and drove them forward into the waters of the river. Some of them
tried to swim the river; others sought shelter on a small willow island near
the shore.
After the Indians had retreated to the island in the
river, Henry dispatched Major McConnell to give intelligence of his
movements to his commander, who, while pursuing the twenty Indians in
another direction, had heard the firing where Henry was engaged. General
Atkinson had left the pursuit of the twenty Indians, and hastened to share
in the engagement. He was met by Henry's messenger near the scene of action,
in passing through which the dead and dying Indians lying around bore
frightful evidence of the stern work which had been done before his arrival.
He, however, lost no time in forming his regulars and Dodge's battalion for
a descent upon the island. These forces, together with Ewing's battalion and
Fry's regiment, made a charge through the water up to their armpits to the
island, where most of the Indians had taken their last refuge. All the
Indians who attempted to swim the river were picked off with rifles or found
a watery grave before they reached the opposite shore.
Those on the
island kept up a severe fire from behind logs and driftwood upon the men as
they advanced to the charge; and here a number of regulars and volunteers
under Dodge were killed and wounded. But most of the Indians secreted there
were either killed, captured, or driven into the water, where they perished
miserably, either by drowning or by the still more fatal rifle. During these
engagements a number of squaws were killed. They were dressed so much like
the male Indians that, concealed as they were in the high grass, it was
impossible to distinguish them. It is estimated that the Indian loss here
amounted to one hundred and fifty killed, arid as many more who were drowned
in the river. Fifty prisoners were taken, mostly squaws and children. The
residue of the Indians had escaped across the river before the commencement
of the action. The twenty men who first commenced the attack, led by Black
Hawk in person, escaped up the river. The American loss amounted to
seventeen killed, one of them a captain of Dodge's battalion and one a
lieutenant of Fry's regiment, and twelve wounded.
September 21,
1832, General Scott and Governor Reynolds concluded a treaty of peace with
the Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes, by which these tribes ceded to the United
States vast regions of country, and agreed to remain at peace with the
whites; and for the faithful performance of this promise, they surrendered
Black Hawk and his two sons, "The Prophet," and six other leaders or chiefs
of the hostile bands, to be retained as hostages during the pleasure of the
President. These Indians were afterward taken to Washington, and shown
around the cities of the east, our navy and army, and our general
arrangements for war, offensive and defensive. When presented to President
Jackson, Black Hawk said:
"I am a man and you are another. We did
not expect to conquer the white people. I took up the hatchet to revenge
injuries which could no longer be borne. Had I borne them any longer my
people would have said, 'Black Hawk is a squaw; he is too old to be a chief.
He is no Sac.' This caused me to raise the war-whoop. I say no more of it.
All is known to you. Keokuk was once here. You took him by the hand, and
when he wanted to return, you sent him back to his nation. Black Hawk
expects that like Keokuk, he will be permitted to return too."
The
President told him that when he was satisfied that all things would remain
quiet, Black Hawk might return.
Black Hawk died October 3, 1840, and
was buried with considerable pomp, on the banks of the Mississippi River,
near the scenes of his boyhood.
Extracted 30 Aug 2018 by Norma Hass from Records of the Olden Time, 1880, by Spencer Ellsworth, pages 143-154.
| Bureau |  |
LaSalle |
| Marshall |
