USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume I > Part 53
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"The incidents of his flying trip to St. Louis, " says Prof. Andrew C. Me- Laughlin of the University of Michigan, "the light canoe flitting through the dark night down the Mississippi, the silence, the wildness of the scenery, the intense excitement and anxiety lost his efforts should be too late, made the
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deepest impression upon his own imagination and memory." In later years Governor Cass, who had been a general in the United States Army, governor of Michigan Territory, a candidate for the presidency and the negotiator of a score of Indian treaties, was appointed U. S. minister to France ; and while at the palace of St. Cloud, Professor MeLanghlin relates, the recollection of these scenes came back to him in all their vividness; and as he contemplated the quiet flow of the Seine, he compared it with "the mighty Mississippi, remember how he was whirled along through the night on a race for peace and the lives of his people."
The Black Hawk War of 1832 .- The war against Black Hawk and his Indians, in 1832, found the little settlement at Milwaukee still in its frontier condition. It took no part in the campaign which ended in that chief's utter defeat and capture. The war which lasted but a few months is also known in the histories as "the Sank war." as the Indians of the Sae and Fox tribe were often called "Sauks." Brief mention may here be made of the leading incidents of that war.
One of the early aets of overt hostility on the part of the Indians was the massacre of sixteen white settlers near Indian Creek, Illinois, which took place May 21, 1832. The details of the attack and the terrible scenes which followed, with the carrying away as captives of the lall girls, has been vividly narrated by Charles M. Scanlan, a lawyer of Milwaukee. and pub- I'shed some years since. Black Hawk was a chief of the Sae and Fox tribe. and many vohimes have been published concerning this remarkable Indian chief.
"The four years following the conclusion of the Winnebago outbreak," writes Carrie J. Smith in her book. "The Making of Wisconsin." "were years of growth and prosperity in Southern Wisconsin. Relieved from anxiety as to Indian attacks, the miners returned to the lead regions, and with them came many immigrants.
"But the interval of peace was short. and the war that followed was the bloodiest in the history of the state. This time it was not the Winnebagoes who led the uprising, but the Sanks, who from the close of the French war against them and the Foxes, had oeenpied the east bank of the Mississippi River from the Wiseonsin to the Missouri river, while the Foxes dwelt on the west bank."
A few weeks before the Indian Creek massacre, referred to above, Black llawk and about five hundred braves with their wives and children crossed the Mississippi into Illinois, with hostile intent. Governor John Reynolds of Illinois (known as "the Old Ranger">, hearing of this movement at onee called out the state militia consisting of 1.600 volunteers. This force followed the Indians up the Rock River. It was with this force of vohmteers that Abraham Lincoln, then a young man of twenty-three, served as captain of a company.
Soon after an attack on the Indians was made by Major Stillman, but his force was repulsed and took to flight. This happened on May 14. still a week before the Indian Creek massacre. United States Regulars from St. Louis, were quickly sent north under General Atkinson and when they
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appeared on the scene the Indians found themselves confronted by an over- whelming force. They accordingly retreated into Southern Wisconsin until at length they reached the Wisconsin River on July 21st.
Here the Indians finding they must make a stand placed their old men, women and children on a raft, believing they could thus escape to the western shore of the Mississippi, while the remaining warriors plunged into the wilder- ness supposing that the safety of their helpless ones had been assured. The Indians having crossed the Wisconsin tried to reach the Mississippi and rejoin the occupants of the raft on the western shore. These unfortunates, however, were fired upon by a force of white troops on the eastern bank with needless cruelty and many of them were killed or drowned.
But the pursuing force caught up with the fleeing warriors near the month of the Bad Axe River where the final action took place. Black Hawk, per- ceiving that the end was near, abandoned his followers and found means to eross the river where he found refuge among some friendly Winnebagoes. The Indians were now mercilessly attacked by their pursuers and great num- bers of them perished while attempting to escape by swimming the river.
The battle of Bad Axe was one of ernel and wanton extermination, about three hundred of the Indians being either killed or drowned. There were still as many more who succeeded in crossing the river, but upon reaching the other shore they were attacked by a party of a hundred Sioux sent out by Atkinson, and one-half of those who had thus far escaped were now slaugh- tered. Out of a thousand warriors who had crossed the Mississippi in April, only abont a hundred and fifty survived the war.
On September 21, 1832, a treaty of peace was signed, and thereafter Black Hawk was held as a prisoner of war at Fortress Monroe until the following June, after which he was returned to his former home in the West. He died in 1838 at the age of seventy-one. There were about two hundred and fifty lives lost in the Black Hawk war, and the cost to the Government was about $2,000,000.
In accordance with the Treaty of Chicago in 1833 (the next year after the war), the Indians of Wisconsin were removed to reservations beyond the Mississippi. The removal was made at the expense of the Goverment but was not completely accomplished until 1838. The contract for the removal of the Wisconsin Indians was given to Jacques Vieau, says J. S. Buek in his history. Vieau was obliged to press into the service "every available team in the country in order to accomplish their removal." Thus the country was cleared of all the Pottawatomies and Menomonees with the exception of some bands who were shown special favors for one reason or another. The Indians "were collected at the old Indian fields," says Buek, "near the Layton House. until preparations could be made, teams procured, and supplies collected."
Public interest throughout the country was strongly attracted towards the Wisconsin and Illinois region in consequence of the war. Numerous de- seriptions of the war and of the territory upon which it had taken place ap- peared in the public prints of the day. No doubt the Black Hawk war greatly promoted the development of the regions now ocenpied by a numerons popu- lation, although then in many parts it was still in a primitive condition.
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Milwaukee in the Mexican War .- In 1846, there were two military com- panies in Milwaukee,-the Washington Gnards and the Milwaukee Rifles. The rank and file of these companies were chiefly Germans, and in view of the predominance of the foreign element in their membership it was thought advisable to form a company of Yankees, as all native-born Americans were called in those days. Most of the members of these companies, foreigners as well as natives, afterwards enlisted for service in the Mexican war which broke out in the spring of 1846.
When the news reached Milwaukee that a battle had been fought on the Texas border between the forces of Gen. Zachary Taylor and the Mexicans under General Arista, these companies at once offered their services to the Government. In a paper read before the "Old Settlers' Club" of Milwaukee in recent years by Ilenry W. Bleyer, quite full particulars of the activities of these troops are given, which are here condensed for this history. The War Department, however, was slow in availing itself of the offer which was in a large measure due to the inadequate means of communication between the East and the West which then existed. "Communication by telegraph," says Bleyer, "could be carried only as far west as Buffalo, and the railway mail service did not extend beyond Kalamazoo. News from Washington, when not telegraphed to Buffalo and dispatched by steamer, was usually two weeks on the way, while the mails from Mexico came to hand some four or five weeks after they had been posted.
"Under these cirenmstances little was known of us in the East, and per- haps less was expected of us, though our territory of 160,000 souls had been shown to have enough brain and sinew to form several regiments of stalwart men, such as those who were associated with the Sixth United States Infantry in driving Black Hawk and his savage hordes beyond the Mississippi River in 1832." The name of General Taylor inspired the enthusiasm of all Wis- eonsin men. as he was well known from his early residenee among them as a young army officer at Green Bay and other stations in the territory, and there was great eagerness to serve under him in the Mexican campaigns.
Obstacles to Recruiting .- "The long period of waiting for an encouraging word from Washington wearied us into a state of indifferenee about the war, and several Milwaukeeans, tiring of this inactivity, went to Illinois to vol- unteer their services. Others in their zeal to serve their country traveled to Detroit and more Eastern points to enlist. In the meantime our territory was called upon to furnish a company, and through the influence of Morgan L. Martin, our representative in Congress, Gustavns Quarles, a popular and brilliant young lawyer of Southport, now Kenosha, was commissioned captain of this company, and Abel W. Wright, lieutenant."
After his arrival in Milwaukee Captain Quarles worked energetically to fill the ranks of his company. The Milwaukee recruits, dressed in uniforms of light blue, presented a ereditable appearance as they marched through the streets to the music of fife and drum. They drilled almost daily on Market Square, along Wisconsin Street east to Milwaukee Street, and along the blutť near a powder house at the head of Martin Street. After Lieutenant Wright had completed his enlistments at Watertown, where he had gone on that
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service, he brought his force of twenty-three men to Milwaukee in wagons. Just before his departure from Watertown a citizens' committee presented him with a handsome sword and an engrossed testimonial of their appreciation of his methods as a military officer. The company, having now been brought up to its full quota, prepared for their departure, and on May 2, 1847, three signal guns announced the approach of the steamer Louisiana that had been designated to transport the volunteers down the lakes. The recruits hurried to their quarters to gather up their belongings, and the citizens assembled along Wisconsin Street to witness their departure. The mayor and members of the common council headed the line of march, followed by the Washing- ton Guards and the German Riflemen, through the principal streets of the town out on the pier as an escort to the volunteers who were about to take their departure.
Here the mayor, Horatio N. Wells, addressed them and Captain Quarles responded in a brief and soldierly manner. The mayor's remarks were in part as follows: "Soldiers! The step you have taken is of no trifling importance. The positions you occupy are alike honorable and responsible. You have made no slight sacrifice ; you leave home, families and friends to go to a distant land, there to exchange a life of comparative ease and domestic happiness for one of toil, of hardship and of danger * * * . Permit me, on behalf of the eitizens of Milwaukee, to bid you and your patriotic officers an affectionate farewell. May the God of battles guide, protect and return you to us in safety and honor."
Seenes similar to this in later times have often been repeated on the de- parture of soldiers for the field of war, in the years from 1861 to 1865, in the Spanish-American war of 1898, and in the glorious response made by the men of Milwaukee in the great World war in 1917 and 1918. The return of those who survived the terrible ordeals of these wars of the republie has given oeeasion for many remarkable demonstrations in honor of our warriors, and memorials of their deeds and bravery have been ereeted in many places throughout the city and commonwealth.
The Campaign in Mexico .- The route of the company was by way of Lake Erie and thenee down to the Ohio River through the eanal which Byron Kil- bourn had built years before to Covington, Kentucky, and from there it was conveyed down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. After a brief stay at this point the company crossed the Gulf of Mexico arriving at their destination at Vera Cruz early in June, and was at once assigned to General Pillow's division of General Scott's army. It was designated as "Company F, Fifteenth United States Infantry."
"On the first of July," continnes Mr. Bleyer's account, "we received the first news of our company under Captain Quarles. His volunteers were glad to land at Vera Cruz after their tedious trip by water. They had not long been ashore when they began to experience the assaults of an insidious foe. The dreadful coast fever had invaded their quarters, and two comrades had died and many others were in the hospital during their brief sojourn at that port. About the middle of June the regiment had been ordered to the front. "Later we received news that the company had had its first baptism of
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MEMBERS OF THE OLD MILWAUKEE LIGHT GUARD From a photo in possession of the Old Settlers' Club of Milwaukee County
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fire, and that it had fought valiantly from early dawn to late in the after- noon. It was at Contreras that Captain Quarles had the gratification of lead- ing his men into their first regular battle."
Needless to say the American boys were victorious and after a short respite the gallant Fifteenth followed up their successful charge by opening the battle of Churubusco by storming the fortress. Here Captain Quarles was killed while leading his men, and beside him fell Privates John Herrick and Moses Whitney. Three weeks later Gen. Winfield Seott entered the City of Mexico at the head of the American army, and thus practically ended the war.
Of the twenty-three men who were recruited at Watertown but six re- turned. In all, forty members of Company F were destined never to return. The names of those who were killed at Churubusco or died during the cam- paign are printed in the records of the Old Settlers' Club of Milwaukee.
The body of Captain Quarles was brought from Mexico in the year fol- lowing the close of the Mexican war, and received funeral honors at his home town of Southport ( Kenosha). The ceremonies on that occasion were attended by the Washington Guards, the Milwaukee Riflemen and the Milwaukee Dra- goons, together with delegations from various eivie bodies.
The Brave and Daring Few .- About the same time there occurred a somle- what similar event in Kentucky where the bodies of those killed in the Mex- jean war who had volunteered from that state had been brought home for burial in the homeland. The obsequies at Frankfort, Kentucky, were dis- tinguished by the recital of that famous poem entitled, "The Bivouac of the Dead," by Theodore O'llara, its author. Verses from this poem have since been placed as inseriptions in many of our national cemeteries as appropriate to the dead of our Civil war. The first stanza of this remarkable poem is here quoted, as follows :
"The muffled drum's sad roll has beat The soldier's last tattoo; No more on life's parade shall meet The brave and daring few. On Fame's eternal camping ground Their silent tents are spread, * And Glory guards with solemn round The bivouac of the dead."
These lines and others in the same poem are likewise appropriate to the heroie dead, the men "who gave the last full measure of devotion" to their country's cause, in the Mexican war.
The total losses in the war with Mexico, as given in Moses' "History of Illinois," were as follows: From JJanuary 1, 1846 to January 1, 1848, there were 1,557 killed in battle or died of wounds. The deaths from disease were 5,987. Thus the losses in human lives were 7,544. There were 5,432 dis- charged for disability, in the course of the war.
The cost of the war, including the amount paid to Mexico under the con- eluding treaty was estimated at the time to be $166,500,000.
Material Results of the War .-- By the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which Vol. 1-37
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concluded the war with Mexico the Mexicans recognized the Rio Grande as the boundary between Mexico and Texas. Mexico ceded to the United States the territory of Texas (for she had never recognized the independence of that republie which had been declared in 1836), and a large part of the present states of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. The United States on her part agreed to pay the Republic of Mexico the sum of $15,000,000. "This payment, " says a writer in the Encyclo- paedia Britannica, "was doubtless intended to strengthen the United States' title to the conquered territory."
The Mexicans celebrate the anniversaries of the battles of Chapultepec and Molino del Rey which preceded the capture of the capital as very great victories and they are recognized as national holidays. "Their authorities," says General Grant in his "Personal Memoirs" (written in 1885), "grow enthusiastic over their theme when telling of these victories, and speak with pride of the large sum of money they forced us to pay in the end." Ile ad- mires their patriotism which he thinks it would be well if we should imitate in part, but with more regard for the truth."
The Union Guards of Milwaukee .- In the account of the "Lady Elgin" disaster which forms a portion of this history, reference is made to "the Union Guards of Milwaukee," a large number of whom lost their lives in that dis- aster, including the captain of the company. Recently Charles M. Scanlan of Milwaukee has written a historical account of the Union Guards and of Capt. Garret Barry, the commander. An abstract of Mr. Scanlan's account is here given, thus adding materially to the melancholy details of that event in our history.
Captain Barry was a graduate of West Point and had served in the United States army, at one time performing garrison duty at Fort Snelling, also at Fort Crawford : and had seen service in the Florida war, in the war with Mex- ico, and, in 1847, bad beeome a resident of Milwaukee. Here he was elected county treasurer in 1859, and at the time of the disaster spoken of was sup- erintendent of the enstom house.
Owing to his military training Captain Barry became prominent in the Union Guards which was the later name of a former organization called the "Searsfield Guards." The Union Guards company was the pride of the Third Ward in Milwaukee, and as its membership consisted chiefly of Irishmen and democrats it was said that "no Trishman had any chance in love or polities unless he were a member of that company."
Those were the days of the infamous "Fugitive slave law" which had been passed by the slaveholding element in Congress. Its operation was resisted in Milwaukee whose citizens generally had no sympathy with slave catchers operating on the free soil of their state. Serious friction having arisen between the state authorities and the Union Guards the governor had ordered the arms used by the company to be returned to the state arsenal which order was promptly complied with. But Captain Barry at once pro- ceeded to purchase a new outfit. It was to raise the money to pay for this outfit that the excursion on the "Lady Elgin" had been planned and carried out, and it was on the return trip from Chicago to Milwaukee, early in the
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morning of September 8, 1860, that the steamer was sunk in a collision with a schooner off Highland Park, Illinois, and some three hundred lives lost.
Captain Barry was among those who lost their lives in that disaster. His body was recovered and a great military funeral took place in Milwaukee. The remains were interred in Calvary cemetery.
Negro Slavery in Wisconsin .- "What there was in Wisconsin of the actual holding of negroes as slaves," writes John Nelson Davidson, in pamphlet number 18 of the Parkman Club publications, "was merely an incidental rather than a purposed extension of a system that had its strength elsewhere." The writer then goes on to state that as "slavery had triumphed in Missouri, and as some of her eitizens became emigrants northward, it was almost a mat- ter of course that at least a few of them would take their negroes, and that the old relation of master and slave would continue for a time in practical though not legal existence."
The story of the first negroes in Wisconsin is one of liberation rather than of continuance in bondage. The case in regard to William Horner and his negroes is described by a correspondent, a portion of whose letter is as fol- lows: "Mr. Horner brought four grown-up persons and two children with him from Virginia, and when Mr. Horner left here to return to Virginia he left those colored people in comfortable circumstances, and now some of them are well off. A Mr. Ross came from Missouri with several colored people that used to be his slaves. He settled them comfortably and now there is quite a colony of them near Lancaster well behaved and industrions, who at- tend schools and churches."
Other Instances of Emancipation .- John Lewis, also of Lancaster, gave the following account : "A man by the name of Woolfolk moved from Mis- souri to Potosi and brought a negro woman with his family who served him as servant for many years. On his removal back to Missouri, he was going to take the woman back, but the opposition of the citizens prevented him from doing so." The blaeks bronght by Mr. Horner were the property of his wife. They were given homes on lands deeded to them. Mr. Ross, mentioned above, died in Wisconsin, but his wife died in Missouri. She made a wish before her death that their blacks should be liberated, and her husband who sur- vived her religiously carried ont her wish. One "Ben Wood" took a slave with him to California in 1849 and report says brought him back from there to Missouri and sold him, regarded by the public opinion of the time as an infamous proceeding.
Influence of Emigration .- "Wisconsin was settled by two currents of emi- gration, distinet in origin and in course," says Mr. Davidson. "One was from the East, and came for the most part by way of the Great Lakes or on land lines parallel in a general way thereto." The other was from the states of the South where slavery had a legal existence, who followed the ronte already traced through the prairie regions of Indiana and Illinois. Thus the states where slavery was tolerated lost many of their best citizens who preferred to find homes for themselves and their children where there was neither master nor slave. "With some of these emigrants dislike of slavery was due to their perception of the fact that it degraded labor, and that though
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it was profitable to individuals of a favored class it was a loss to the com- mmmity as a whole." But there were others who came to Wisconsin besides those who hated slavery. Many of those who came from slave states brought with them a rancorous spirit directed especially towards the Abolitionists, and thus developed that bitterness which characterized the political disens- sions of that time.
Immigrants from the East settled a larger portion of the state and exerted a wider influence than those from any other section. With these tides of im- migration into Wisconsin came a flood of anti-slavery conviction that over- spread the forming commonwealth. "Of these early settlers, " says David- son, "New York furnished a larger number than those from any other state. Many of these, to be sure, in coming hither had made a second removal from their New England home. Yet it was From New York more than from any other state that there came to Wisconsin so vital a union of abolitionism, with the evangelistie spirit that the church was the best friend to be found by either slave or sinner. For this we, as a state, owe to New York a greater debt than for shaping, as she undoubtedly did through her sons, our po- litieal institutions."
Religion and Slavery .- " What people really believe, " continues Davidson. "finds expression, commonly, in their religion before it does in their polities. Certainly the anti-slavery feeling in Wisconsin found utterance through some of her churches before it did through any political convention * Whatever may be true of other parts of our country. most of the early churches of Wisconsin are free from the reproach of moral cowardice in deal- ing with the subject of slavery."
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