USA > Wisconsin > An illustrated history of the state of Wisconsin : being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875 > Part 12
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all night at Fort Hamilton ( Wiola, Wisconsin), on the following morning he was joined by nine men; and, with his entire com- mand of about twenty men, the lieutenant proceeded to Spafford's cornfield. After burying the victims, the expedition returned to Fort Hamilton, where it found Capt. Gentry with a few men ; and on the next day (June 16, 1832), Col. Dodge came in, and assumed the command.
As the colonel with two friends approached Fort Hamilton, they met a German, named Apple, a settler in that vicinity, who was returning to his log-cabin to prepare for active service ; and immediately afterwards he was shot by an enemy concealed in the bushes. As soon as the colonel reached the fort, there- fore, he sallied out again at the head of the party which Lieut. Bracken had commanded, and of Capt. Gentry's party, twenty- eight men in all; and, taking their trail, he pursued the In- dians, overtaking them on the bank of the Pecatonica, behind which they had concealed themselves under a sand-bank and in the bushes. Having "told off" in sections of seven, the fourth or central man of each section remained on horseback, and took charge of the horses of the other six; while four others were sent on the neighboring height as lookouts; and the remainder dismounted, and prepared for the attack by renewing their flints, repriming their guns, unbuttoning their shirt-collars, and tightening their belts. When all were ready, Col. Dodge ad- dressed them in a few homely sentences; and the party in line waded the stream, and entered the thicket. As soon as the position of the enemy was seen, he occupied the bed of a pond, in front of which was a natural breastwork three feet in height. The order was given to " Charge 'em, boys : charge 'em!" Mount- ing the embankment after having received the enemy's fire, the whites engaged with the Indians in a hand-to-hand conflict, before the latter could reload their pieces ; and with such spirit was the attack conducted, that in a few minutes, with the loss of three men, the enemy was completely overpowered; eleven having been killed on the spot, while two others, wounded, were tracked up the bank of the stream, and were scalped ; and four others crept beneath the surrounding brushwood, or into the long grass on the neighboring prairie, and died of their wounds ; not one of the seventeen assailants escaping to tell the story of the Battle of the Pecatonica.
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While Col. Dodge was thus engaged with the enemy at Peca- tonica, Capt. James W. Stephenson, with the Galena Company of volunteers, was on the lookout for Indians near the head of Yellow Creek, where he discovered a party of them, and pursued them into the bushes. The Indians, having secured the advan- tage of position, immediately stood on their defence; and, having lost three of his men, Capt. Stephenson, after a spirited attack, was obliged to order a retreat.
He appears to have changed his mind after withdrawing from the action, however, and returned to the thicket, charging a second and a third time on the hiding-places of the enemy, with greater determination than success, until, having received a severe wound, he was compelled to retire. It is not known what was the strength of the enemy, or his loss ; and, although the assault was spirited and well contested, the loss of the volunteers indicated a spirited and gallant defence.
On the 24th of June, Black Hawk, with one hundred and fifty Indians, made an attack on Apple River Fort, near the present village of Elizabeth, Ill., and twelve miles from Galena. This work was a square stockade of logs driven into the ground, and strengthened with a block-house at each angle. It was garrisoned with twenty-five men under Capt. Stone; and was designed as a place of refuge, during the night, for the miners and their families, although, during the day, they attended to their affairs outside the walls, as they had done before the war. In the afternoon of the day in question, an express of three men, on its way from Galena to Dixon's Ferry, passed the fort, and had not proceeded more than three hundred and fifty yards, before it was fired on by the Indians, who were concealed in the bushes. One of the three was wounded ; and, although all were intoxicated, his comrades covered his retreat to the fort, afford- ing an opportunity, at the same time, for the miners and their families to secure their safety in the same manner. As the ex- press entered the fort, the enemy dismounted, hitched his horses, and opened a heavy fire on it for upwards of an hour, without inflicting any injury beyond killing one man, and wounding another. At length the Indians entered the log-houses which stood near the fort, and, having knocked holes in the walls for portholes, they continued the fire, without exposing themselves
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to that of the garrison. Finding that his rifles were useless in such an attack, and fearing to set fire to the fort, or to the houses, lest the light or the smoke should discover their position, and direct the army or the people in their pursuit, Black Hawk "thought it more prudent to be content with what flour, pro- visions, cattle, and horses he could find," and to retire. Before doing this, however, it is said, the Indians plundered the houses, " chopping, splitting, and tearing up a quantity of fine furni- ture." It is said by an eye-witness, that "there was scarcely a man or woman that was left with a second suit of clothing." They went into my father's house, " he continues. There was a large bureau full of fine clothes; and they took six fine cloth coats and a number of fine ruffled shirts. With their tomahawks they split the drawers, and took the contents. They ripped open the bedticks, emptied the feathers, took all the bed-cloth- ing, and broke all the delf in the cupboards. Some of the out- houses were kept for the purpose of storing away provisions. They got into those houses, where a number of flour-barrels were stowed away. They would lie down on their faces, and roll a barrel after them until they would get into a ravine, where they were out of danger, and then would empty the barrels of flour. After they had destroyed this necessary article, and when they found they could not succeed in taking the fort, as they ex- pected, they commenced a warfare upon the stock. They killed all the cattle that were near the fort, and took a number of fine horses, to the number of about twenty, which were never got again by their owners." At length, having remained before the fort fifteen hours, and done all the damage they could, the Indians retired with the loss of several of their number.
In the mean time, the volunteers which Gov. Reynolds had called for had assembled at Fort Wilbourne, been organized into three brigades, mustered into the service of the United States, and ordered to rendezvous at Dixon's Ferry. The battalion of spies, commanded by Major John Dement, and attached to the first brigade, was ordered to move forward as an advance- guard; and it had reached Kellogg's Grove, when, on the morning of the 25th of June, an express reached that place. reporting the existence of a heavy trail on the north side of the grove. At daylight, the major went out with twenty-five men
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to reconnoitre, at the same time directing the remainder of his battalion to saddle their horses, and hold themselves in readi- ness to act as circumstances might warrant. He had not pro- ceeded far from his encampment, before he discovered a small party of Indians, when part of his men, disregarding his orders, pursued it, and were drawn into an ambuscade. The major immediately formed those who remained with him, together with a few who had followed from the encampment, into a covering party ; and with them he gallantly endeavored to rescue those who had been led into danger. The yells of the enemy, as he rushed from his coverts, intimidated the greater part of those who were with him; and they fled, leaving the major to contend with the enemy, with but few supporters. With these he gal- lantly resisted the Indians, while, at the same time, he fell back on the main body, and occupied a line of log-houses, from which he was enabled to hold them in check, until, an hour afterwards, they retired, with the loss of nine of their number. Although the strength of the whites was much greater than that of the Indians (the latter being the same party, under Black Hawk, who had attacked the Apple River Fort on the preceding day), and although the personal gallantry of the Major called forth the admiration of the chief who opposed him, and afforded an example to his men which they did not imitate, this affair has properly been considered a defeat of the whites, of whom five were killed, and three wounded. Upwards of sixty horses be- longing to the battalion were also killed.
While Major Dement was thus engaged, one of his men was sent back to Gen. Posey for assistance, and met him on the road; but, notwithstanding his march was quickened, the Indians had retired in the direction of Lake Koshkonong before he could reach the field of battle.
During the succeeding three or four weeks, the several divis- ions of the forces appear to have succeeded in none of their undertakings. At one time they concentrated their strength in the vicinity of Koshkonong Lake, probably for the purpose of enclosing the enemy, who was supposed to have been there ; and at another, finding that Black Hawk had slipped away from them, and scattered his forces, they, too, separated, and went in differ- ent directions in pursuit of the fragments of their enemy's party.
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At one time, the several divisions, in full pursuit, promised a speedy termination of the conflict: at another, a few days after- wards, they were brought to a sudden halt for the want of sup- plies, or the victims of Indian shrewdness (the deception of an enemy can be called nothing more than this), in leading them into quagmires and over streams, which, without bridges, were impassable.
At the same time, the Indians were not in a condition to take complete advantage of these delays and mistakes. Originally entering Illinois without a hostile intent, and accompanied with their women and children, and all their worldly effects, - a peo- ple returning to the homes of their fathers, as the Israelites re- turned from Egypt, - they had been forced into a war without preparation, or the opportunity to disencumber themselves of their families ; and they were not only checked in their move- ments from this cause, but they were also suffering for the means of subsistence. A gallant officer of the army, then with the troops, has recently alluded to the position of the Indians on the White Water and Rock Rivers, and said that "here they found some game, roots, and vegetable substances, on which they had subsisted or existed. But our delays, our marches and countermarches, had misled and deceived them, and prevented them from separating to hunt or fish : hence their supplies were exhausted, and they were actually in a state of starvation. Our masterly inactivity, occasioned by treacherous advice, and want of stores, had already conquered them; but we were not yet aware of this fact." The brave but unfortunate Black Hawk also bears testimony to the same sad truths. " During our en- campment at the Four Lakes," he says, "we were hard put to to obtain enough to eat to support nature. Situated in a swampy, marshy country (which had been selected in consequence of the great difficulty required to gain access thereto), there was but little game of any sort to be found ; and fish were equally scarce. The great distance of any settlement, and the impossibility of bringing supplies therefrom, if any could have been obtained, deterred our young men from making further attempts. We were forced to dig roots, and bark trees, to obtain something to satisfy hunger, and keep us alive. Several of our old people became so much reduced as actually to die with hunger."
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'The singular spectacle was thus seen of two contending forces severally held in check by the want of the means of support, and of each being ignorant of the position or condition of the other. For the purpose of relieving the wants of the whites, Gens. Henry and Alexander, and Col. Dodge, with their commands, were detached to Fort Winnebago for a supply of provisions for twelve days; while, for the relief of the Indians, soon afterwards, Black Hawk " concluded to remove his women and children across the Mississippi, that they might return to the Sauk nation again, " while, it is probable, he with his braves intended to continue the contest.
It appears that Gen. Alexander returned to the camp with the stores, while Gen. Henry and Col. Dodge, with their com- mands, moved towards the Rock River Rapids in search of the enemy. Without knowing that the escort had not included the entire detachment, Black Hawk immediately moved towards the Wisconsin River, with the purpose of descending that stream to the Mississippi, and was hastening in that direction when Gen. Alexander and Col. Dodge struck his trail. The bones of horses which had been killed to prevent the star- vation of the women and children were hourly passed, and eventually a few stragglers in their rear were discovered in the vicinity of the Wisconsin.
At this moment, the force of the whites, under Gen. Henry and Col. Dodge, embraced a thousand men, besides a battal- ion of volunteers from Michigan and Galena, and was well sup- plied with stores, and anxious for the engagement; while that under Black Hawk numbered less than three hundred half- starved and dispirited warriors. A rear-guard of twenty men, under Ne-a-pope, had been thrown back, to give notice of the approach of the whites; and the remainder of the party was bu- sily employed in transporting the women and children, the aged and the infirm, to an island in the river, when suddenly (the outpost having been avoided) the head of the American col- umn came in sight. Black Hawk was then compelled to fight, or to sacrifice his women and children, and the helpless of his party ; and he appears to have acted promptly and honorably in the emergency. Leaving the greater part of his party to con- tinue the removal of their families, with fifty braves he went
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out to meet Gen. Henry, and dispute his progress. He was well mounted ; and, after addressing his warriors in a few well- timed remarks, he moved forward, and endeavored to secure a position on a high ground near by, "that he might have some advantage over the whites."
In the mean time, Gen. Henry had formed his troops, and was ready for action. His first line was formed with Major Erving's "Spy Battalion " in the centre, the companies under Capts. Gentry and Clark on the right, and those under Capts. Camp and Parkinson on the left. His second line was composed of Col. Collins's regiment in the centre, with that under Col. Fry on his right. His men were all dismounted, and his horses were left in the rear, the central man of each section of seven having been detailed for that purpose ; and he had formed his men on foot, in the order referred to, and had prepared for action.
Against this force, Black Hawk and his fifty braves moved, without wavering, or manifesting the least fear, "raising the war-hoop, screaming and yelling hideously, and rushing forward, meeting it with a heavy charge." The superior force of the whites, however, insured the safety of their positions; and " with a tremendous volley of musketry, accompanied with the most terrific yells that ever came from the head of mortals, except from the savages themselves," they succeeded in occu- pying the high ground which Black Hawk aimed to secure, and in driving the fifty Indians into a deep ravine, notwith- standing the determined attempts of the latter to turn, first the left of the American line, and then its right. With the utmost determination the fifty "savages " withstood the three regi- ments and two battalions of whites (but little less savage than the former, in their habits and mode of warfare, and much more so in the spirit which actuated them) until sunset, when, "finding that the whites would not come near enough to receive his fire in the dusk of the evening, and knowing that the women and children had had sufficient time to reach the island in the Wisconsin," Black Hawk ordered his warriors to disperse in different directions, and to "meet him at the Wisconsin ; " and, strange as it may appear, the victors "were not disposed to pursue them."
The loss of the whites in this action was one killed and eight
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wounded ; and although the army supposed that of the Indians to have been " about sixty killed, and a great number wounded," there is no reason to disbelieve Black Hawk when he says, "I defended my passage over the Wisconsin with the loss of only six men, though opposed by a host of mounted militia."
In recording the result of this engagement, the battle of Wis- consin Heights, July 21, 1832, it is difficult to determine which to admire most, - the self-sacrificing spirit of the chief and his fifty braves, or the skill and determination with which they accomplished their purposes. And Black Hawk, in referring to it, was excusable in indulging in a little self-gratulation, when he remarked, " Whatever may be the sentiments of the white people in relation to this battle, my nation, though fallen, will award to me the reputation of a great brave in conducting it."
During the succeeding day, the troops remained on the field of battle; and, early on the morning of the 23d, they were terrified by the sound of something on a neighboring hill-top, which, in their fright, they supposed was an Indian chief giv- ing orders to his men. In the mean time, while part of the Indians descended the Wisconsin, with the hope of reaching the Mississippi more speedily, Black Hawk and his band started over the rugged country for the same purpose. His progress was necessarily slow ; and, having no means of support, several of his old men and little children perished from hunger on the way. Soon afterwards, Gen. Atkinson, with the main body of the army, joined in the pursuit of the famishing "invaders " of Illinois; and following their trail over the "rugged country " of which the chief speaks, as will be seen, he came up with them near the mouth of the Bad Axe.
While the Indians and their pursuers were thus traversing the wilderness towards the Upper Mississippi, intelligence of the action at the Wisconsin Heights was conveyed to Prairie du Chien by express ; and Col. Loomis, the commander of that post, immediately employed a steamboat to cruise on the river, and to cut off the retreat of the miserable fugitives. This ves- sel (" The Enterprise ") soon gave place to a faster one ("The Warrior" ); and on the 1st of August she discovered the Indians on the bank of the river, near the mouth of the Bad Axe, making preparations to cross the river. The chief was ac-
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quainted with the captain of the vessel, and ordered his war- riors not to fire, " as he intended to go on board of her, so that he might save their women and children; " and, with this pur- pose, he displayed a white flag, "and called to the captain of the boat, telling him to send his little canoe ashore, and let him come on board." He was hailed from the boat with the in- quiry if they were Sauks, or Winnebagoes; and, when he an- swered they were Sauks, a fire was opened on him and his party, with a six-pounder, by Lieut. Kingsbury, and a detach- ment of regular troops, who occupied the forward-deck of the boat. As Lieut. Kingsbury and Capt. Throckmorton of "The Warrior " have stated that they saw the flag, this fire appears to have been a wilful violation of every rule which governs the actions of military men; and when Black Hawk's party returned the fire with their small-arms, they were justified by every law both civil and military.
After the first discharge of the six-pounder, the Indians took to the trees, and returned the fire, keeping it up until "The Warrior " found it necessary to return to Prairie du Chien for another supply of fuel.
It is said that twenty-three warriors were killed in this dis- graceful affair ; while of the crew of "The Warrior," and the troops on board of her, only one was wounded.
On the following morning (Aug. 2), Gen. Atkinson and his force approached the Mississippi; and at an early hour the spies came in sight of the Indian outposts. The latter imme- diately attempted to surrender by exhibiting a white flag ; " but the whites paid no attention to their entreaties, and com- menced slaughtering them." When forced to resist, or submit to the sacrifice, they resolved to sell their lives dearly, and re- turned the fire. The main body hastening forward to support its light troops, the Indians slowly retired, firing as they re- treated, and fell back on their main body, which was on the bottom, busily employed in transporting the women and chil- dren, and the aged and infirm, over the Mississippi.
At this moment, the scene was a touching one. In front were a people who had been led, by influences which controlled their action, to seek the recovery of the homes of their fathers, which had been fraudulently taken from them by the whites ; and who,
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in the course of their journey, without provocation on their part, and without any overt act of hostility, had been forced to resort to arms in defence of their lives and the lives of their families who accompanied them. Without friends to counsel them, without aid to strengthen their force, without food to sus- tain the demands of nature, without sympathy, and denounced as "monsters" of the most hideous character, they had been hurled from one point to another with all the power of the Federal Government, with all the voluntary strength of Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and with all the energy of indi- vidual cupidity. Seeking shelter in the swamps, they had sought existence among the roots which they could dig up, or the young grass, which they boiled for their little ones, or the bark which they pulled from the trees for those who required more delicate nourishment; or flying anxiously towards the Mississippi, the boundary of their new homes, they had killed their horses for their families' nourishment, leaving nothing but the bones and the hair of the animals to tell the story of their sufferings. Those who, from any cause, had fallen into the hands of their pursuers had been "left behind," as it was heartlessly called, notwithstanding their "pleas for quarters;" and when they had begged for peace and shelter, and had urged the acknowledgment of the sacred character of a white flag, a Federal cannon, and Federal grape and canister, had communi- cated the answer of the Federal Government to their mercy, and the indorsement of the Federal Government of the acts of their spoilers. They were now busily engaged in removing their families to their acknowledged homes. With canoes and temporary rafts, on horseback, or being towed over by their faithful steeds, and even by swimming, bearing their little ones on their backs as they went, the women were eagerly pressing forward to a place of supposed safety, while their husbands and fathers and brothers, as Black Hawk had done at the Wiscon- sin, covered the retreat by preparing for battle.
Behind these, five times more numerous than they, were the Federal troops and the volunteers; the latter not less savage, in every respect, than the Indians, who were the instruments of their spoliation, or the supporters of the wrong. The former, under their experienced and gallant officers, were but the instru-
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ments of an unjust policy of the government under whose orders they acted ; while the latter, moving in their own cause, were regardless of discipline or order, relentless in their animosities against an unresisting or an overpowered enemy, unreliable, if not cowardly, before a determined opponent, and anxious for the slaughter rather than the battle. The latter had been formed in order of battle, -Gens. Pasey and Alexander, with their brigades, being moved to the extreme right, up the river, to prevent the escape of the Indians in that direction; Cols. Jones and Collins, and Major Erving, with their regiments, under Gen. Henry, in line, moving down against the Indians ; Gen. Dodge with his volunteers, and Col. Zachary Taylor with the regular troops, on the right, being engaged with the outposts of the Indians ; and Col. Fry, with his regiment, cover- ing the rear. After a short contest, Gen. Dodge and Col. Tay- lor, with their commands, moved to the left, and joined the line in its attack on the main body of the Indians; and with such resolution did the latter defend themselves, and cover the retreat of their families, that soon afterwards the companies commanded by Capts. Gentry, Gruer, and Richardson, and the regiment of Col. Fry, - the former generals, Dodge and Alexan- der, on the extreme right; the latter, from the rear, - were found necessary to support and strengthen the line of attack. The action on the river-bottom continued but little longer, when the Indians, overpowered, either fell before the rifles of their pursuers, or fled to one of the islands, with which the Mississippi, at this place, abounds, vainly hoping that they would not be pursued.
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