In the early 1700’s the Sauk and Mesquakie (Fox) tribes wereknown to be living in the northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, and southwestern Wisconsin area.
In 1804, a Sauk delegation that did not consist of any significant chiefs traveled to St. Louis in order to secure the release of an an imprisoned member of the tribe. Not only were they unsuccessful in securing his release, but hey unwittingly signed a treaty with William Henry Harrison. This treaty was without the approval from the true leaders of their tribe. In true American government form of the time they were provided with a yearly annuity of $1000 in exchange for 3.7 million acres of Saul land located east of the Mississippi River and some west of the Mississippi.
Though upset, the Sauk did not feel the repercussions for decades until westward expansion of the Americans caught up with the land. Previously, only some mining took place around Galena, but the land offered little that the Sauk could not find elsewhere.
In 1830 settlers moved into the area of Saukenuk where 6000 Native Americans called home. They farmed there in the spring and summer after hunting during the winters. The 1804 treaty was pulled out and and the American military was authorized to forcibly remove the inhabitants by force, if necessary. Most departed, but Black Hawk and a band of of warriors refused. Black Hawk was not a chief, but was known for his prowess. He became the leader of a faction of Sauk, Mesquakie, and Kickapoo refugees who had ties to the British in Canada.
Black Hawk led his people, the “British Band” that included the elderly, women, and children, east across the Mississippi where he hoped to find allies in other tribes. The rumors of his “invasion” east sent panic through the region and the army dispatched troops from St. Louis, while militias mustered and traveled to the area. Finding no allies among the tribes Winnebago and Potawatomi, Black Hawk attempted to parley with Major Isaiah Stillman’s militia. Black Hawk was fired upon under a white flag.
During the pursuit of the Black Hawk, they were ambushed and thus began a decentralized conflict with skirmishes between Black Hawk’s warriors and an ill-prepared militia. All the while, Black Hawk tried to lead his people to safety. They made it as far as Wisconsin when, on July 21st, they had a major battle near the Bad Axe River and were caught.
After the massacre that followed, no more than 300 out of the original 1000 tribes people rejoined their families in the Iowa Territory that winter.
Black Hawk survived and while a prisoner of war wrote an autobiography, became a celebrity, and began a tour of the United States in 1833 – under guard of the U.S. Army. In October of that year he was released, but never became a leader of the Sauk. He died in 1838 and never had to witness the many forced moves of his people that followed in the decades to come.
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