History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 23

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company
Number of Pages: 1084

USA > Illinois > Sangamon County > History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 23

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

SPRINGFIELD & NORTHWESTERN.

In 1869 a charter was secured for a new road, under the name of the Springfield & North- western, running from Springfield to Rock Island. A contract was let early in the year 1871 from Havana to Springfield, and work was immediately commenced, and continued until some time during the following year, completing a track from Havana to Petersburg, Menard county, a distance of twenty-five miles. The contractors then failed. and other parties entered into contract to continue and complete the work to Springfield. This last party, in consequence

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

of the hard times, also failed in the fall of 1873, having completed the road to Cantrall. John Williams, of Springfield, then took charge of the road, and in 1874 had the cars running into the city of Springfield. In 1875 the road was placed in the hands of a Receiver and subse- quently sold under mortgage, and purchased by Colonel Williams for the benefit of the bond- holders. In 1878 a new company was formed which purchased the road from Williams and electing new officers, undertook its management. John Williams was the first President of the new company and was succeeded by John T. Stuart. Subsequently Charles Ridgely became the owner of the principal part of the stock, and in August, 1881, he sold to the Wabash Com- pany, and it is now a part of that system.

CONTEMPLATED ROADS.

The Peoria & Springfield railroad was char- tered in 1871, and the entire line was let under contract for grading of the road, in 1872. Grad- ing was commenced at the Peoria end of the road and it was completed to Pekin in 1873. The hard times of that year caused the suspen- sion of all work, and it has since been entirely

abandoned. George N. Black, John Williams, John T. Stuart and James C. Conkling, were among the directors on its organization.

The Springfield & St. Louis Railroad was projected about the same time of the Peoria & Springfield road. The same cause is given for the failure of both enterprises-hard times.

The Springfield, Carrollton & St. Louis Rail- road Company, and the St. Louis, Jerseyville & Springfield Railroad Company were each organ- ized March 1, 1872. Before work was com- menced on either road the hard times of 1873 set in, and all efforts to build the road were abandoned. In 1880 a new company was organ- ized, taking the old name of St. Louis, Jersey- ville & Springfield Railroad Company, and began the construction of a line upon the old route. In 1881 the road fell into the hands of the Wabash Company, and was made a part of their system.

The Springfield Southern Railroad Company was organized March 25, 1872, and the Spring- field, Macon & Wabash Railroad Company, March 1, to take effect April 4, 1872. No effort was made to build the roads in consequence of the depression in money matters.

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

CHAPTER IX.

WARS.

Since the organization of the county, its citi- zens have been called upon, and promptly re- sponded, in two Indian wars, the Mormon and Mexican wars, and the war for the Union.

THE WINNEBAGO WAR.

When lead was discovered in the region of Galena, and it was found profitable to mine it, the white people flocked there in large numbers. For some years previous, the different Indian tribes inhabiting the northern part of Illinois and Wisconsin had been at war among them- selves, and in the spring of 1827, a small party of Winnebagoes surprised a party of twenty-four Chippewas, and killed eight of them. The United States commander at Fort Snelling caused four of the offending Winnebagoes to be arrested, and delivered to the Chippewas, by whom they were punished. Red Bird, the Chief of the Sioux, while acting with the Winnebagoes, in an attempt to obtain revenge for the killing of the four members of their tribe, was defeated by the Chippewas. He then determined to wreak his vengeance on the white people, who had assisted his enemies and invaded his country. On the 27th of June, 1827, two white men were killed near Prairie DuChien, and on the 30th of July, two keel boats, carrying supplies to Fort Snell- ing, were attacked, and two of the crew killed. The news soon spread among the settlers, and upon a call from Governor Edwards, four com- panies of infantry and one of cavalry were made up in Sangamon county. The cavalry company was commanded by Edward Mitchell, and the four infantry companies by Captains Thomas Constant, Reuben Brown, Achilles Morris and Bowling Green. The whole, under command of Colonel Thomas M. Neale, with James D. Henry, as Adjutant, marched to Peoria, where the regiment was more fully organized, and continued on to Galena. Before their ar-

rival in the Indian country, Red Bird, with six of his warriors, voluntarily gave themselves up to the United States forces, under General Atkin- son, to save their tribe from the miseries of war. Thus ended the campaign, and the troops from Sangamon county were ordered home.

THIE BLACK HAWK WAR.

In 1804, a treaty was made with certain of the Sac and Fox Indians by General Harrison, at St. Louis, by which they ceded to the United States all their lands on Rock river, and much more elsewhere. This treaty was confirmed by a part of the tribe, in a treaty with Governor Edwards and Augustus Chouteau, in September, 1815, and by another part, in a treaty with the same commissioners, in May, 1816. These treat- ies were never considered binding by Black Hawk and other chiefs of his tribe. In this con- nection it will be well to give an account of Black Hawk, and what he says of the treaty of 1804. From a work published by J. B. Patter- son, of Oquawka, on the Black Hawk war the following extract is taken:

" Black Hawk, whose Indian name was Muck- a-tan-wish-e-ke-ack-ke-ak (meaning a black hawk) was born at the Sac village ( the site of this vil- lage was at the present village of Camden, at the Rock river crossing of the Peoria and Rock Island Railroad), on Rock river, in Illinois, in the year of 1767. His father's name was Py-e-sa. His great-grandfather, Na-na-ma-kee ( Thunder ) was born near Montreal, Canada, and was placed at the head of the Sac nation by a Frenchman who claimed to be the son of the King of France.

" He gave them many presents, such as guns, powder, lead, spears, and lances, and showed them how to use them in peace and war; and also cooking utensils, and many other presents of different kinds. He afterwards sailed for

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

France, promising to return at the end of the twelfth moon.

" They continued to trade with the French for a long time, and until the latter were overpow- ered by the British. After that event several tribes united and drove the Sacs from Montreal to Mackinac, and thence to Green Bay, where they formed an alliance with the Fox nation, and then retreated to the Wisconsin, and finally to Rock river, from which they drove the Kas- kaskias and commenced the erection of their village.

" Py-e-sa succeeded Na-na-ma-kee as war chief, and was killed in an engagement with the Cherokees, who largely out-numbered the Sacs and Foxes. On seeing him fall, Black Hawk assumed command and fought desperately until the enemy retreated. In this battle, he killed three men and wounded several with his own hand, the enemies loss being twenty-eight and Black Hawk's being only seven. After this en- gagement, he fell heir to the great medicine bag of his tribe, and, after a season of five years mourning, with blackened faces, they deter- mined on avenging the death of Py-e-sa, by the annihilation if possible of the whole Cherokee tribe, and took out a strong army for that pur- pose.

"Black Hawk succeeded in killing many of them and in finally driving them to their own country.

"His next movement was against the Chippe- was, Kaskaskias and Osages, with whom he had seven regular engagements, with a loss of two or three hundred. The enemy retired and Black Hawk and his band returned to their village.

"Spain was then in possession of St. Louis and all the country south and west. The Indians congregated at St. Louis every spring for many years to do their trading. After the Louisiana purchase, the Spanish withdrew from St. Louis and the Americans took possession. Soon after Lieutenant (subsequently General) Zebulon M. Pike, with an escort of soldiers, went up the Mis- sissippi river, calling on the chiefs of the various tribes that dwelt along the banks of the Father of Waters, and made them many presents in the name of their Great Father, the President of the United States, who he told them would always treat them well if they would listen to his ad- vice. A few moons later a Sac Indian killed an American, for which offencehe wasarrested and confined in the prison at St Louis. As soon as intelligence of the murderer's arrest and impris- onment reached Black Hawk, he called a council of the head men of his tribe at the Sac village

to talk the matter over and consider what was best to be done.

"They resolved to send four of their braves to St. Louis to compromise with the authorities by paying the relatives for the man killed-the only way with them for saving one person who had killed another. Quash-qua-me and three other men of the tribe were chosen to go on this mis- sion, the result of which was thus related by Black Hawk.

"Quash-qua-me and his party remained a long time absent. They finally returned dressed in fine coats and wearing medals and encamped near the village.

"Early the next morning the council was con- vened and Quash-qua-me and party came in and reported the result of their mission.

"On their arrival at St. Louis, they reported to the American chief and urged the release of their friend. The American chief said his gov- ernment wanted more land, and if the Sacs and Foxes would give him some in Illinois, opposite Jefferson (barracks), they would release the im- prisoned Sac.

"Quash-qua-me and his party assented to this, and signed a paper by making their marks. When they were ready to leave, their friend was released, but as he was let out of the prison he was shot dead. This was the treaty of 1804, in which all their country in Illinois was ceded to the United States, for one thousand dollars a year, and was the cause of the Black Hawk war, as the chiefs claimed that no one but themselves and head men had authority to make a treaty."

Under this treaty, it was agreed that the In- dians should retain possession of the country until it was wanted for white occupancy.

Black Hawk and his people remained in peaceful possession of the country along Rock river, until 1830, when they were notified that they must move across the Mississippi river. They complied with the "notice to quit," and crossed over the Father of Waters and took up their abode on the eastern slope of Iowa, in what came in after years to be known as the Black Hawk purchase, or forty-mile strip.

Rankling under what Black Hawk believed to be a wrongful dispossession of their homes along Rock river, and hunger and want coming to his people in their new homes, they re-crossed the Mississippi in the spring of 1831, and took possession of the site of their old village and corn fields. This movement of Black Hawk ex- cited alarm among the white people who had settled in that part of Illinois. and complaint was made to Governor Reynolds, of Illinois,

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

against their presence. The complaints repre- sented that the Indians were insolent, and had committed many acts of violence. Governor Ford says the Indians ordered the white settlers away, threw down their fences, unroofed their houses, cut up their grain, drove off and killed their cattle, and threatened the people with death if they remained. These aets of the In- dians were considered by Governor Reynolds to be an invasion of the State. He immediately addressed letters to General Gaines, of the United States army, and to General Clark, the Superintendent of indian Affairs, calling upon them to use the influence of the Government to procure the peaceful removal of the Indians, if possible; at all events, to protect the American citizens who had purchased those lands from the United States, and were now about to be ejected by the Indians. General Gaines repaired to Rock Island, and becoming convinced the Indians were intent upon war, he called upon Governor Reynolds for seven hundred mounted volunteers. The Governor obeyed the requisi- tion, and issued a call upon the northern and central counties, in obedience to which fifteen hundred volunteers rushed to his standard at Beardstown, and about the 10th of June were organized and ready to be marched to the seat of war. The whole force was divided into two regiments, an odd battalion, and a spy battalion. The First Regiment was commanded by Colonel James D. Henry, of Springfield.

Black Hawk, becoming convinced that he could do nothing against the force sent against him, retreated across the river, and fearing pur- suit from General Gaines, returned with his chiefs and braves to Fort Armstrong, and sued for peace. A treaty was here formed with them, by which they agreed forever to remain on the west side of the river, and never to re-cross it without the permission of the President or the Governor of the State. The treaty of 1804 was thus at last ratified by these Indians. Notwith- standing this treaty, early in the spring of 1832, Black Hawk and the disaffected Indians pre- pared to re-assert their right to the disputed territory.

Governor Reynolds, as soon as informed of the action of Black Hawk, issued another call for volunteers. General Thomas M. Neale, of the State militia, received the following order:

To General T. M. Neale :- You are hereby commanded to cause six hundred men of your command to meet at Beardstown, on the 22d inst., without fail. I have ordered the Colonels

of your brigade to furnish their proportion of men out of their respective regiments, for fear you might not be at home. You will call on the militia nearest the rendezvous. Each com- pany to be composed of fifty men and to elect its own officers. Mounted volunteers are pre- ferred. If none such will offer their services, then you are to draft, which I hope will not be the case.

JOHN REYNOLDS, Commander in Chief.

April 16, 1832.

The Sangamo Journal of this period contained many articles recounting the atrocities commit- ted by the Indians. The excitement ran high and every able-bodied man was ready to volun- teer. The quota of this county was easily raised. As a specimen of the war poetry of the period we quote the following, appearing as original in the Journal:

SONG

FOR THE SECOND EXPEDITION AGAINST BLACK HAWK.

Brave Sangamon hath armed, All to defend her right- Arouse, ye bold Kentucky boys, The foremost in the fight! Away! away! away!

The flames of war are burning red, The naked frontier needs your aid! Huzza for old Kentuck! Away! away! away!

Virginia and fair Tennessee, From danger never known to flee, Show Sangamo your pluck! Away! away! away!

Now old Virginia's hearts of fire, Who in the battle never tire, Remember Washington, your sire! Away! away! away!

Ye Yankee boys of courage true, Now show the world what ye can do! And make the Black Hawk tremble, too! Away! away! away!

Our answer is the rolling drum- We come! we come! we come! Forward! our course is to the West- The war path is no place of rest! Away! away! away!

The Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and the few " Yankee boys" then living here, nobly re- sponded, causing grief to some loving wives, whose husbands were thus to be taken from them, probably never to return. Some one whose wife was thus grieving, relates his experi- ence through the columns of his weekly paper, as follows:

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

Have e're you seen, when you've been called To scenes of arms and strife,

The tear stand trembling in the eyes Of your beloved wife?

Have you seen this, then heard her say

With faltering voice -- " My dear,

(Then pausing and embracing you) "My dear-don't go-I fear!"

Ah, have you seen and have you heard Her urge her moving plea-

"I fear you'il ne'er come back, my love, To these sweet babes and me."

Then you have felt what I have felt, My resolution tried-

But bracing up my nerves, I said,

" Dear wife don't be afraid.

" We've heard of fearful massacres Of fathers-mothers slain-

And little babes-as small as ours All mangled on the plain!

"Then ought I not, with sword in hand, Go quickly to defend

Those little babes and women, who May meet such direful end?"

She nothing said-but while I spoke She gently pressed my hand,

And ever since her actions say Go now-defend our land.

Speaking of the Black Hawk war, Ford, in his "History of Illinois," says:

"The united Sacs and Fox nations were di- vided into two parties. Black Hawk commanded the warlike band, and Keokuk, another chief, headed the band which was in favor of peace.

"Keokuk was a bold, sagacious leader of his people; was gifted with a wild and stirring elo- quence, sure to be found, even among Indians, by means of which he retained a greater part of his nation in amity with the white people.

"But nearly all the bold, turbulent spirits, who delighted in mischief, arranged themselves under the banner of his rival. Black Hawk had with him the chivalry of his nation, with which he re-crossed the Mississippi in the spring of 1832.

"lle directed his march to Rock river in the spring of 1832.

"He directed his march to the Rock country, and this time aimed, by marching up the river into the countries of the Pottawottomies and Winnebagoes, to make them his allies. Gover- nor Reynolds, upon being informed of the facts, made another call for volunteers. In a few days eighteen hundred men rallied under his banner at Beardstown. This force was organized into four regiments and a spy battalion. Colonel

Dewit commanded the First Regiment, Colonel Fry the Second, Colonel Thompson the Fourth, and Colonel James D. Henry commanded the spy battalion. The whole brigade was put under the command of Brigadier General Sam- nel Whiteside, of the State militia, who had commanded the spy battalion in the first cam- paign.

"On the 27th of April, General Whiteside, accompanied by Governor Reynolds, took up his line of march. The army proceeded by the way of Oquawka, on the Mississippi, to the mouth of Rock river, and here it was agreed between General Whiteside and General Atkinson, of the regulars, that the volunteers should march up Rock river about fifty miles, to the Prophet's town, and there encamp, to feed and rest their horses, and await the arrival of the regular troops in keel boats, with their provisions. Judge William Thomas, who again acted as quartermaster to the volunteers, made an esti- mate of the amount of provisions required until the boats could arrive, which were supplied, and then General Whiteside took up his line of march.

"But when he arrived at the Prophet's town, instead of remaining there, his men set fire to the village, which was entirely consumed, and the brigade marched on in the direction of Dixon, forty miles higher up the river.

" When the volunteers had arrived within a short distance of Dixon, orders were given to leave the baggage wagons behind, so as to reach there by a forced march. And for the relief of the horses, the men left large quantities of pro- visions behind with the wagons.

"At Dixon,'General Whiteside came to a halt, to await a junction with General Atkinson, with provisions and the regular forces; and from here parties were sent out to reconnoitre the enemy and ascertain his position. The army here found upon its arrival, two battalions of mounted volunteers, consisting of 275 men, from the counties of McLean, Tazewell, Peoria, and Fulton, under the command of Majors Still- man and Bailey. The officers of this force begged to be put forward upon some dangerous service in which they could distinguish them- selves.

"To gratify them they were ordered up Rock river to spy out the Indians. Major Stillman began his march on the 12th of May, and pur- suing his way on the southeast side, he came to "Old Man's" creek, since called "Stillman's Run," a small stream which rises in White Rock Grove, in Ogle county, and falls into the river

Ceny Wohlgemuth, M.2)

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HISTORY OF SANGAMON COUNTY.

near Bloomingville. Here he encamped just before night; and in a short time a party of In- dians on horseback were discovered on a rising ground about a mile distant from the encamp- ment. A party of Stillman's men mounted their horses without orders or commander, and were soon followed by others, stringing along for a quarter of a mile, to pursue the Indians and attack them.

"The Indians retreated after displaying a red flag, the emblem of defiance and war, but were overtaken and three of them slain.

" Here Major Hackelton, being dismounted in the engagement, distinguished himself by a com- bat with one of the Indians in which the Indian was killed, and Major Hackelton afterwards made his way on foot to the camp of General Whiteside.

' Black Hawk was near by with his main force, and being prompt to repel an assault, soon ral- lied his men, amounting then to about seven hun- dred warriors, and moved down upon Major Stillman's camp, driving the disorderly rabble, the recent pursuers before him. These valorons gentlemen, lately so hot in pursuit, when the enemy were few, were no less hasty in their re- treat, when coming in contact with superior numbers. They came with their horses in a full run, and in this manner broke through the camp of Major Stillman, spreading dismay and terror among the rest of his men, who immediately began to join in the flight, so that no effort to rally them could possibly have succeeded. Major Stillman, now too late to remedy the evils of in- subordination and disorder in his command, did all that was practicable, by ordering his men to fall back in order, and form on higher ground ; but as the prairie rose behind them for more than a mile, the ground for a rally was never discovered ; and besides this, when the men once got their backs to the enemy, they commenced a retreat, without one thought of making afurther stand.

"A retreat of undisciplined militia from the at- tack of a superior, is apt to be a disorderly and inglorious flight; and so it was here, each man sought his own individual safety, and in the twinkling of an eye the whole detachment was in utter confusion. They were pursued in their flight by thirty or forty Indians, for ten or twelve miles, the fugitives in the rear keeping up a flying fire as they ran, until the Indians ceased pursuing.

" But there were some good soldiers and brave men in Stillman's detachment, whose individual efforts succeeded in checking the career of the

Indians, whereby many escaped that night who would otherwise have been easy victims of the enemy.

"Among these were Major Perkins and Captain Adams, who fell in the rear, bravely fighting to cover the retreat of their fugitive friends.

"But Major Stillman and his men pursued their flight without looking to the right or left until they were safely landed at Dixon.

"The party came straggling into camp all night long, four or five at a time, each fresh arrival confident that all who had been left behind had been massacred by the Indians.

"The enemy was stated to be just behind in full pursuit, and their arrival was looked for every moment. Eleven of Stillman's men were killed, and it is only astonishing that the num- ber was so few.

" It is said that a big, tall Kentuckian, with a loud voice, who was a colonel of the militia, but a private with Stillman, upon his arrival in camp, gave to General Whiteside and the won- der struck multitude, the following glowing and bombastic account of the battle: 'Sirs,' said he, 'our detachment was encamped among some scattering timber on the north side of Old Man's creek, with the prairie from the north gently sloping down toward our encampment. It was just after twilight, in the gloaming of the even- ing, when we discovered Black Hawk's army coming down upon us in solid column; they displayed in the form of a crescent upon the brow of the prairie, and such accuracy and pre- cision of military movements were never wit- nessed by man; they were equal to the best troops of Wellington, in Spain. I have said that the Indians came down in solid columns, and displayed in the form of a crescent; and what was most wonderful, there were large squares of cavalry resting upon the points of the eurve, which squares were supported again by other columns fifteen deep, extending back through the woods and over a swamp three-quarters of a mile, which again rested on the main body of Black Hawk's army, bivouacked upon the banks of the Kishwakee. It was a terrible and a glorious sight to see the tawny warriors as they rode along our flanks attempting to outflank us, with the glittering moonbeams glistening from their polished blades and burnished spears. It was a sight well calculated to strike consterna- tion in the stoutest and boldest heart; and ac- cordingly our men soon began to break in small squads, for tall timber. In a very little time the rout became general, the Indians were soon upon our flanks and threatened the destruction

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History of Sangamon County, Illinois, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 23

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company Number of Pages: 1084

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Inter-state publishing company
Number of Pages: 1084