USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Discovery and conquests of the Northwest, with the history of Chicago, Vol. I > Part 48
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Encouraged by this success, Black Hawk selected 150 of his choicest braves and marched against the fort from which the horses had been taken. It was a small stockade of logs driven into the ground, having a tower at each corner for sharp-shooters, and garrisoned with twenty-five men under command of Capt. Stone. Clustered around it was a village of miners, who, in the event of an Indian attack relied on it as a place of
* Johnston's History of Stephenson county.
558
Attack on Apple River Fort.
refuge. As Black Hawk's band neared the place, so stealthy was his movement that they managed to con- ceal themselves in a thicket only half a mile distant without being discovered. From this ambush, he in- tended to dash upon the place just after twilight, before the gates of the fort were closed for the night, and had it not been for the indiscretion of one of his own men, the village and fort both would probably have been taken and all the inhabitants butchered, according to the merciless custom of Indian warfare. On the morning of the same day, six brave scouts had volunteered to take a message from Galena to Dixon. * Arriving at Apple River fort, they stopped to take din- ner, from whence they were to take their dangerous course over the prairies. A few minutes' travel after they left the fort brought them within range of one of the concealed Indians, who fired on them, wounding Walshe. His companions kept the Indians at a dis- tance by pointing their guns at the foremost ones till the wounded man was rescued, and all had made a glorious retreat to Apple River fort.+ Thus balked in his plan of secrecy, Black Hawk immediately dashed upon the town. The villagers rushed into the fort, leaving their houses at the mercy of the foe. The women went to melting lead and molding bullets, and the men and boys seized each a musket to defend the fort. The assault was kept up ten hours or more. In vain the Indians fired a tempest of bullets against the palisades, aiming at the loop holes, and with ferocious yells threatened to assault the place by scaling its walls. A number of them had fallen before the steady aim of the defenders, and the besiegers at last retreated, after a wanton destruction of everything of value in the vil- lage. Only one man was killed in the fort.
While Black Hawk's band were wasting their fury against the fort, Dixon, one of the intrepid scouts who had been fired upon as he, with his companions, had started for Dixon, was on his way to Galena to give the
* Fred Dixon, Wm. Kilpatrick, - Walshe, - Wackelrode and two others.
¡ Boss' History of Ogle county.
559
Battle of Kellogg's Grove.
alarm and obtain assistance .* Col. Strode, who held command of the place, promptly responded to the call by sending a detachment with all haste, but they did not arrive till Black Hawk had retreated. Martial law was now declared in Galena, as a measure of defense against Black Hawk's scouts.
The late daring act, though unsuccessful, had suffi- ciently demonstrated the courage of the Indians, and their numerous war parties infesting the lonesome paths of the prairies gave alarming evidence that their num- bers had been augmented largely from tribes who were friendly as nations, but whose renegade element were in the ranks of Black Hawk.
Gen. Brady, to whom the command of the new re- cruits had been given, being now taken violently sick, Gen. Atkinson was appointed to take his place. While these were on their way to Dixon, Major Dement was ordered to advance to Galena with a spy battalion numbering 150 men. Arriving within thirty-five miles of his destination at Kellogg's grove, while reposing at the log cabin of Mr. Kellogg, for whom the grove was named, on the 25th of June, he was apprised of the presence of large bodies of Indians. Three or four days before, Black Hawk had been repulsed from Apple River fort-less than a day's march from this place- and it was but a reasonable supposition that his band were ambushed near by-perhaps within hearing of his noisy soldiers in the merriment of camp life. Orders were given to saddle the horses, while he, at the head of twenty men, led a reconnoitering party. It was none too soon, for within 300 yards of his camp seven Indians were discovered, crawling on the ground, silent as Victor Hugo's thugs, His undisciplined men imme- diately gave chase, while he vainly endeavored to call them back for fear of an ambuscade. When the pur- suit had continued about a mile, a large body of Indians, reported at 300, but probably consisting only of the at- tackers of Apple River fort, sprang from their hiding places like so many goblins. Ferocious yells broke the
* Fred Dixon had been a distinguished Indian fighter in Missouri. He was not the proprietor of Dixon's ferry.
560
Attempt to Overcome Dement Fails.
silence of the morning, filling the solitudes around them with vengeful warnings. Dement retreated inside the log buildings composing Mr. Kellogg's pioneer planta- tion, sending back occasional shots on the way. Here he held his foes at a great disadvantage to them; but unwilling to give up the prize, they wasted considerable powder and lead against the inflexible walls of his retreat till several of their own number fell before the steady aim of the besieged. *
The Indians withdrew after an hour's ineffectual attempt to dislodge Dement. Five whites were killed and'a larger number wounded, which was the result of the ambuscade which the undisciplined soldiers had fallen into, from which perilous position their retreat into the log cabins saved them from a total defeat with great slaughter.
Before the battle, an express had been sent to Gen. Posey for assistance, and two hours after the retreat of the Indians he arrived with his whole force. The next day he made a reconnoissance to the north, in search of the retreating Indians, but not finding them, he took up his quarters at Fort Hamilton, on the Pecatonica river.
The news of the battle soon reached Dixon, where Gen. Atkinson, supposing that Black Hawk might attempt a retreat across the Mississippi, sent Gen. Alexander to scour its banks below Galena, and inter- cept him; but pending this fruitless search, Black Hawk was retreating, unpursued, to his camp at the head of Rock river, where his warriors, with their wives and children, were now whetting their revenge under the accumulated griefs of exile, hunger and war.
A few days before Dement's battle Col. Dodge, who commanded the Wisconsin volunteers, went to Fort Hamilton, which was the nearest fort to the spot where the five men had been killed in a corn field, as told in a
* Among the Indians shot was a daring young chief who ventured very near to secure a good aim at the loop hole. Rev. Zadock Casey was the one who brought him down; the same who afterward became Lieut .- Governor of the state. On the person of the chief was found a lock of hair which was afterward identified as the same cut from the head of Rachel Hall, who was carried into captivity from the Indian Creek massacre .- Matson's Shaubena, page 177.
561
Battle of Pecatonica.
preceding page. From this place, at the head of twenty-one daring Wisconsin volunteers, he sallied forth in quest of the hostile Sacs who had committed the outrage. He overtook them on the east fork of the Pecatonica, lodged in a grove. The attack was imme- diately made, and resulted in killing the entire band of Indians, seventeen in number. Col. Dodge's loss was three killed. This little skirmish tested not only the courage, but the muscle, of the dashing volunteers, for the conflict was mostly hand-to-hand fighting .*
After Dement's fight, Gen. Atkinson, learning by Wapansie, a friendly Pottawattamie, that Black Hawk had returned to his camp, he made preparation to fol- low him. Col. Fry was ordered to march in advance, for the especial purpose of meeting and welcoming a company of friendly Pottawattamies, recruited at Chi- cago, and led by Billy Caldwell and Shaubena and Geo. E. Walker, while he and Gen. Henry, with their respective brigades, followed, taking their course up the east side of Rock river, with the intention of attack- ing Black Hawk in his camp. At the same time Gen. Alexander was ordered to advance up the west side of the river, a few miles west of its bank, while Col. Dodge and Gen. Posey were to march from the waters of the Pecatonica, striking Sugar creek, which flows southwardly through Green county, Wis., thence to the most southern of the Four lakes. While this sweeping invasion was making its way northwardly, Black Hawk was fleeing before it as fast as his scanty means of transportation would allow; but ere he was able to cross the Wisconsin river he was overtaken by Gen. Henry's division, who gave him battle on its southern bank, at a place called Wisconsin Heights, about fifty miles below Fort Winnebago, which resulted in a loss of fifty to him while in his retreat across the river. Gen. Henry's loss was one killed and eight wounded.
White Crow, a friendly Winnebago chief, was in Gen. Henry's ranks during the battle, but unfortunately for Black Hawk, the Crow left the camp of the volun- teers and started for Fort Winnebago as soon as dark-
* Smith's Doc. History Wisconsin, Vol. I, page 275.
562
Flight of Black Hawk.
ness had put an end to the fight, for during the night Gen. Henry's sentinels heard Indian voices calling to them, but no one could interpret their words, and no notice was taken of them. These were offers to sur- render* and had the White Crow been present to inter .- pret them the awful fate that followed to Black Hawk's band might have been averted.
During the night Black Hawk succeeded in getting his wretched fugitives across the Wisconsin, whence they fled toward the Mississippi, indulging in the despairing hope that they could reach its banks and find an asylum in the mysterious wilds beyond, should they be able to cross before their pursuers overtook them. Gen. Atkinson, who was in hot pursuit of the Sacs, soon arrived at Helena, on the Wisconsin river, where the Wisconsin volunteers, under Col. Dodge, effected a junction with him. Crossing over to the north side, they soon struck the trail of Black Hawk. It was during the last days of July, and the heat of midsummer soon decomposed the bodies of the dying fugitives, and the stench left in their wake was some- times almost insupportable. Some of these dead were those who had been wounded in the late battle, and others were women or children who had surrendered at last to starvation and exhaustion.
On the 2d of August, the advance, under Cols. Dodge and Zachary Taylor, overtook and attacked them, the main army, under Gen. Atkinson, meantime pressing on, supposing that the main body of the Sacs was in front of them.
In this conviction they were outwitted by the wily Black Hawk, who, intending to escape with his main body while amusing his pursuers with a feint, had sent them to the banks of the Mississippi, at the mouth of the Bad Axe. Gen. Henry, who was in the rear, learned this through Major Ewing, and dashing at them with his whole force, the battle of Bad Axe was fought, Gen. Atkinson reaching the scene only in time to see the ground covered with slain Indians, and the flying remnant vainly trying to cross the river by swimming.
* Smith's Wisconsin, Vol. I, page 280.
BATTLE OF BAD AXE.
564
Rout of the Indians.
The loss of the volunteers was seventeen killed, and more wounded. *
Immediately after Henry's battle at Wisconsin Heights, he had dispatched a messenger to Prairie du Chien to give the news. He arrived there on the 23d of July, and Col. Loomis, who then held command of Fort Crawford, dispatched the steamer "Enterprise" up the Mississippi to intercept Black Hawk, should he attempt to cross. Arriving at the mouth of Black river, they found forty Winnebagoes with twenty-eight canoes. They were friendly Indians, but doubtless under a compassionate sympathy for their unhappy kindred in their desperate extremity, had assembled there to assist them across the river. Under this impression they were seized and sent to Fort Crawford. The "Enter- prise " was now abandoned because she was a slow boat, and the steamer "Warrior," armed with a six- pounder, was sent up the river in her stead. There are two islands on the Mississippi at the mouth of the Bad Axe, and on one of these the most of the defeated Sacs with their women had found a breathing place after the battle. Many of them swam thither, for they had but one canoe, which was used to transport the feeble squaws and children. To this isolated retreat, Col. Taylor at the head of 150 regulars followed them,. and charged upon the pent-up fugitives, while Capt. Throckmorton opened fire on them from the " Warrior." They made a desperate defense, but all fell except one who escaped by swimming. f
Among those who had not taken refuge on the island was Black Hawk himself and less than 100 of his band. Black Hawk fled to Prairie LaCross, a Winnebago vil-
* There seems to have been no small amount of rivalship, from the first, among the various divisions of the volunteers, as to which should have the first chance at the Sacs. It was by disobedience to the orders of the commanding Gen. (Atkinson), that Gen. Henry had by a hasty march overtaken and fought Black Hawk on the heights of the Wis- consin, for which offense Gen. Atkinson had placed him in the rear in the continued pursuit, but Black Hawk's successful feint at Bad Axe had by chance again given Gen. Henry the first chance at his desperate and starving warriors.
See Smith's Wisconsin, Vol. I, page 415. Reynolds' My Own Times, page 415.
t Capt. Estes,' Account. See Doc. History Wisconsin, Vol. III, page 230.
565
Last Fatal Retreat.
lage, where he surrendered himself to Cha-e-tar, and One-Eyed Decorra. Under their custody the con- quered chief with the prophet were taken to Prairie du Chien, and delivered to Gen. Street, the agent of the Winnebagoes at that place, on the 27th of August .*
Of the miserable remnant, about fifty were taken prisoners, and it is probable that a few fled to the Winnebagoes and found a shelter, but it is known that some succeeded in crossing the Mississippi, even in the face of their numerous enemies. They had no sooner landed on this savage shore than the Sioux, their ancient enemies, fell upon the unhappy outcasts, and sent them across another river to the happy hunting grounds.+ The thorny path they had traveled since they had returned to Illinois was now ended. If this world's griefs can offset transgressions, the balance could not be greatly against them to be entered to account on the other side.
Let us now return to Gen. Scott, whom we left at Fort Dearborn. No news was obtainable from the seat of the war, and before he would take any offensive steps, it was necessary to communicate with Gen. Atkin- son. From the alarming news that had thus far reached Chicago it was then supposed that Black Hawk's war parties were waylaying every path through the prairies that intervened between Fox river and the Galena settlements; but yet in the face of these fancied dangers, an intrepid frontierer was found who volunteered to
* On delivering the captives One Eye said: "We have done as you told us. We always do as you tell us, because we know it is for our good. We want you to keep them safe. If they are to be hurt, we do not want to see it. Wait until we are gone before you do it." Black Hawk spoke as follows: My warriors fell around me; it began to look dismal. I saw my evil day at hand. The sun rose clear on us that morning, and at night it sank in a dark cloud, and looked like a ball of fire. This was the last sun that shone on Black Hawk. He is now a prisoner to the white man, but he can stand the torture. He is not afraid of death. He is no coward. Black Hawk is
an Indian. He has done nothing an Indian need be ashamed of. He has fought the battles of his country against the white men who came year after year to cheat them, and take away their lands. Black Hawk is satisfied. He will go to the world of spirits contented. His father will meet and reward him. The white men do not scalp the head, but they do worse; they poison the heart. . .
. Farewell to my nation! Farewell to Black Hawk."
+ Doc. History Wisconsin, Vol. III, page 284.
566
General Scott's Advance.
carry a message from Gen. Scott to the camp of Gen. Atkinson, which was supposed to be on Rock river. This was John K. Clark (who, it may not be forgotten, was the son of Margaret the captive). He started on the mission with two daring half breeds, stealthily mak- ing their way over treeless plains, and creeping through silent groves to Rock river, thence following up the trail of his army reached his camp and delivered the mes- sage. All haste was now made to return to Chicago, which they safely effected after a week's absence from the place and delivered Gen. Atkinson's reply to Gen. Scott. The two inconsiderate half breeds tarnished their laurels thus gained by a carousal in a villainous whisky den, which then stood about where the well known house of Fuller & Fuller is now located. Here they spent the night in dissipation, and the next morn -- ing Benjamin Hall (my informant), saw them come from the place, lie down on the ground, and die with cholera at fifteen minutes' notice.
About the 20th of July, Gen. Scott now resolved to go to the Desplaines river and encamp, thinking the change might be beneficial to the health of his men. He arrived there about the 20th with his whole com- mand, and encamped at the present site of Riverside. His baggage train consisted of about fifty wagons which, with the horses to draw them, had been purchased at Milan, Ohio, and sent by teamsters to Fort Dearborn, where they arrived a few days after the general had come to the place.
Robert N. Murray, whose father had recently settled in Naperville (as already stated), was a lad of seventeen years, and enlisted in the service of Gen. Scott as team- ster, to drive one of the teams across the country. Gen. Scott, with twelve men and two baggage wagons, had started in advance, leaving Col. Cummings in com- mand of the main body, which was to follow as soon as the health of the soldiers would permit. In ten days the train started, carrying in the wagons the few sick soldiers who had not yet sufficiently recovered from cholera attacks to stand the fatigue of marching. Their route lay through Gilbert's grove, on the Du Page,
567
Black Hawk Released.
across the Fox river three miles below Elgin; thence through the Pigeon woods to the present site of Belve- dere; thence to an old Indian village at the present site of Beloit. Here the train rested a week, during which time a messenger came to the commanding officer, in- forming him of the battle of Bad Axe, with orders to proceed to Rock Island.
In obedience to these instructions, the train again started over the prairies in a more southerly direction, passing the present site of Rockford, which was then a wild of great beauty, where they encamped for the night. Young Murray had by this time attracted the eye of Col. Cummings, who promoted him to the posi- tion of driving his own carriage, and gave the charge of the team from which he had been taken, to his first driver. Here he soon became initiated into the ways of some "great men," by being offered his choice of brandy or wine as often as the colonel became thirsty,
which was five or six times a day. Young Murray, to his surprise, declined the brandy, but retained the good opinion of his master, nevertheless. A few days' travel down Rock river now brought them to their destination. The troops were left at Fort Armstrong, and the teams sent back to Chicago, where they were sold .*
On the 9th of September the, Indian prisoners were sent to Jefferson barracks, just below St. Louis, from which place Black Hawk, with the prophet, was sent to Washington, arriving there the following April, 1833. On the 26th they were sent to Fortress Monroe, where they remained till the 4th of June, when they were ordered to be sent back to their own country.
On the way Black Hawk was received with ovations in all the large cities through which he passed. Even ladies of high rank flattered him with smiles and com- pliments, to whom he, not wishing to be outrivaled in politeness (in his way), responded: "Pretty squaw! Pretty squaw!"
On returning to his country, he was restored to his tribe as a chief, subordinate to Keokuk. He spent his
* While the writer is making up this chapter, Mr. Murray is on the bench holding his court but few rods distant in the village of Wheator.
568
Death of Black Hawk.
last days in quietness, dying on the 3d of October, 1838, at his home on the Des Moines river, in Iowa. He was buried in a sitting posture, after the Indian custom, near the present village of Iowaville in Wa- pello county, and a mound six feet high raised over the remains of the ill-starred chieftain, who must ever stand recorded as The last native defender of the soil of the northwest .*
* Our Mr. Lincoln, whom Chicago delights to claim, at least as one of her transient citizens, served in the Black Hawk war six weeks, but humorously says that he fought nothing but mosquitoes. Out of this experience grew an incident which is told by Hon. Isaac N. Arnold, in a pamphlet published by the Chicago Historical Society, as follows:
"When Major Anderson visited Washington after his evacuation of Fort Sumter, he called at the White House to pay his respects to the president. After the chief magistrate had expressed his thanks to Anderson for his conduct in South Carolina, Mr. Lincoln said: 'Major, do you remember of ever meeting me before?' 'No,' replied Anderson; ' I have no recollection of ever having had that pleasure.' 'My memory is better than yours," said Mr. Lincoln. 'You mustered me into the United States service as a high private of the Illinois volunteers at Dixon's ferry, in the Black Hawk war.'"'
4.12
Hit
THE SAUGANASH HOTEL.
BUILT BY MARK BEAUBIEN ON THE S. E. COR. LAKE AND MARKET STREETS, PREVIOUS TO THE BLACK HAWK WAR.
569
Fort Dearborn.
OFFICIAL RECORD OF FORT DEARBORN,
TAKEN FROM THE RECORDS OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT AT WASHINGTON, BY HON. THOS B. BRYAN.
FORT DEARBORN, ILLINOIS.
SITUATED AT CHICAGO, ILL., WITHIN A FEW YARDS OF LAKE MICHIGAN; LAT. 41º 51' N. ; LON. 87º 15' W.
Post established by the U. S. forces in 1804. August 15, 1812, the gar- rison, under the command of Captain Nathan Heald, First U. S. Infantry, composed of fifty-four regular infantry, twelve militia men, and one in- terpreter, was attacked by the Indians, and evacuated same day. The Indians numbered between 400 and 500, of whom fifteen were reported killed. The killed of the garrison were: Ensign Geo. Rowan, * First Infantry; Doctor J. V. Van Voorhis, t Captain Wells, interpreter; twenty- four enlisted men U. S. Infantry, and twelve militia men ; two women and twelve children were also killed. The wounded were Captain Nathan Heald and Mrs. Heald. None others reported. The next day, August 16, 1812, it was destroyed by the Indians. Re-occupied about June, 1816, Captain Hezekiah Bradley, Third Infantry, commanding. The troops continued in occupation until October, 1823, when it was evacuated, and the post left in charge of the Indian agent, and was re- occupied October 3, 1828. Capt. Hezekiah Bradley, Third Infantry, commanded the post from June, 1816, to May, 1817; Bvt. Maj. D. Baker, Third Infantry, to June, 1820; Capt. Hezekiah Bradley, Third Infantry, to January, 1821; Maj. Alex. Cummings, Third Infantry, to October, 1821 ; Lt. Col. J. McNeal, Third Infantry, to July, 1823; Capt. John Greene, Third Infantry, to October, 1823. Post not garrisoned from October, 1823, to October, 1828.
[According to the above official record, the attack preceded the evac- uation. This was a mistake, according to the account of every eye witness who has written its history, of whom there are several .- Author.] The following item is from Wm. Hickling, Esq. :
" At this present time (1881) there is standing, fronting on State, near the N. E. corner of Thirty-third street, what appears to be a two-story frame house. The body of this edifice is made of hewn timber, which formerly formed a part of the officers' quarters of Fort Dearborn (erected in 1816). Many years ago, the late Judge Henry Fuller re- moved this building from its old site, on the Fort reservation, to its present locality ; then modernized it by covering with siding and a new shingle roof. In another building erccted by Judge Fuller, No. 872 Michigan avenue, may be found an oaken window frame inserted in the kitchen part of said building ; this venerable relic was also removed from the " officers' quarters " of the old Fort, after having done duty there for some thirty years. It seems that the judge had a great liking for these old Fort Dearborn buildings, for he removed a portion of an- other log building belonging to the old fort, converting the same into a stable on the rear of his property, No. 872 Michigan avenue. This old relic of the fort he afterward sold, and I understand the purchaser broke up the old timbers for firewood."
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