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Home , Black Hawk War, Henry Dodge

The War

Brief Introduction History

 U.S. required Sauk to move to present-day  Needed space for settlers moving into  Struggled to prepare land for crops  Winter 1831-1832 very difficult  April 1832: Black Hawk (Sauk leader) led 1,000 Sauk and Fox people to northern Illinois  Hoped to make military alliance with Winnebago and other tribes History

 Illinois settlers feared Sauk and organized  Black Hawk reconsidered his actions when seeing militia and surrendered  Militia ignored peace flag and attacked Sauk  Sauk returned fire  Militia retreated in panic, leaving weapons  Sauk collected weapons and retreated north into

 Gen. , in charge of U.S. Army forces  Led , James Henry, and 4,000 militiamen  Sauk and Fox unable to move as fast (traveling with elderly and small children)  Sauk warriors raided frontier farms and villages to distract American soldiers Black Hawk War

 July 21, 1832: Henry Dodge and soldiers caught up to Black Hawk’s band near present-day Sauk City  Sauk warriors turned to attack American troops  Allowed women and children to flee across WI River  American troops found Sauk forded river at night  Dodge moved to Ft. Winnebago (near present-day Portage) for supplies Black Hawk War

 Ft. Winnebago- Dodge and Atkinson set to pursuit Sauk and Fox  Aug. 2, 1832: U.S. soldiers attacked Sauk and Fox as they attempted to ford (near Vernon County)  Ignoring a truce flag, troops fired cannons and rifles  Killing hundreds, including children Black Hawk War

 Sauk and Fox that fled were killed by Eastern (allies of Americans in 1832)  Only 150 of 1,000 members of Black Hawk’s band survived  Rejoined Sauk and Fox in Iowa Black Hawk Surrenders

 Black Hawk surrendered at Ft. Crawford, Prairie du Chien  Imprisoned and sent east to meet with Pres. and other gov’t officials  Eventually U.S. gov’t sent him to live with surviving members of the Sauk and Fox nation Assignment Background Info

 The documents you’ll be reading provide good examples of how historical accounts may vary  You’ll be reading:  A part of Black Hawk’s biography (originally published in 1833)  The Sauk ’s account of both the Battle of Wisconsin Heights and the  A letter from Dodge to Atkinson describing the Battle of Wisconsin Heights  Gen. Atkinson’s account of the Battle of Bad Axe published in the Weekly (WI was part of MI Territory in 1832) printed on Aug. 9, 1832