1832 Andrew Jackson - Bad Axe Massacre and the Black Hawk War

In 1832, Andrew Jackson shared with Congress news of a decisive battle in present day Wisconsin where "the Indians were entirely defeated, and the disaffected band dispersed or destroyed". The event, today known as the Bad Axe Massacre, was described by President Jackson as a severe "lesson to the Indians".   The massacre which took place near De Soto Wisconsin along the Mississippi River resulted in the death of more than 400 Sauk and Fox Indians including women and children.  The event brought an end to the Black Hawk war and opened up much of Illinois and Wisconsin to further settlement. 

The story starts in 1804 when governor of the Illinois territory William Henry Harrison negotiated a treaty in St. Louis with a group of Sauk and Fox Indian tribal leaders to sell their lands east of the Mississippi river who were never authorized to sell the land.  Despite the treaty, the Indians were allowed to live on the land until 1828 when the U.S. government began to have the ceded land surveyed for settlement.   While most of the Sauk Indians chose to relocate west of the Mississippi, a group of about 800 chose to stay and resist the settlement of whites on their ceded land.  Led by Black Hawk, a war captain who fought alongside the British in the War of 1812, the group attracted other followers including about 200 Kickapoo and some Potawaomis.  Soon the group had grown to about 1500 people and drew the attention of the United States Army.   In 1831 General Edmnud P. Gaines led a mounted battalion of state militia to intimidate Black Hawk into leaving.   Keokuk, the de facto leader of the Sauk convinced Black Hawk and his "British band" as they were called to cross the Mississippi to avoid bloodshed.

Black Hawk did not remain west of the Mississippi for long, on April 5, 1832 he led British Band which included about 500 warriors across the river and back into Illinois.  Black Hawk had anticipated that the Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi tribes would support his attempts to resettle in Prophetstown, but by May Black Hawk learned that the Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi leaders cautioned against any tribe members from helping Black Hawk even declaring that any who helped him would be considered a traitor to his tribe.   Black Hawk was now running out of supplies and had no Native allies.  His British band was in trouble and he was ready to negotiate with the Americans an end to the crisis.  Unfortunately, for Black Hawk things turned for the worse.

On April 10, Brigadier General Henry Atkinson was on his way to the upper Mississippi to punish some of the Sauks who were reported to have murdered a band of the Menominee tribe.  When General Atkinson heard that Black Hawk's band had crossed the river, he sent word to Black Hawk ordering him to return at once.  Through a messenger, Black Hawk sent a message back refusing to leave.  Per request of Governor Reynolds, General Atkinson then raised four regiments of mounted volunteers, 1594 men in total.   The calvary and men left Fort Armstrong on May 9, following Black Hawk's trail up the Rock River.  On May 12th, when they had reached Dixon's Ferry another 341 men from seven companies of mounted Volunteers under Major Stillman where there anxious to join in the fight against the Indians but were not yet mustered into federal service.  Instead Governor Reynolds sent them on a scouting mission to Old Man's Creek about 30 miles up the Rock River.   As the men were preparing camp and partaking of much liquor,  three of Black Hawk's men appeared on a nearby will with a white truce flag.  Rather than receiving these men in the proper manner, a mob of the men rushed out and grabbed the three Indians as prisoners.   Following the three men were an additional five warriors sent out to keep watch.  A group of Stillman's disorderly men gave chase on them opening fire and causing much confusion in the camp.  Three of Black Hawk's men were killed.   Black Hawks warrior responded with an attack at dusk, Stillman's once brave and anxious men now took flight, but not before 12 Illinois milia men were killed. 

Word of this attack was sent to both President Andrew Jackson and Illinois territory Governor Reynolds.  Reynolds called for fresh set 2,000 mounted volunteers, while the president ordered General Winfield Scott to assemble an additional 1,000 regular troops to join General Atkinson and his men.   Among General Atkinson's men was none other than private Abraham Lincoln.   The large number of men and cavalry marched slowly east into Wisconsin, traveling only 6 or 7 miles per day.   This slow march allowed Black Hawk and his men to evade any confrontation.   Despite the slow march, the American militia began to encounter fresh signs of Indian camps each day, some only 3 days old.  On July 21, 1832 the militia caught up with Black Hawk's band as they attempted to cross the Wisconsin River near present-day Roxbury near Sauk City Wisconsin.  The first militia men that arrived at this site were ordered to higher ground where Black Hawk's warriors approached them.  When the Warriors were within 30 yards the militia opened fire.   Forty of Black Hawk's warriors were killed in the battle.  Black Hawk asked his men to stand firm, as the rest of the band crossed the Wisconsin River.

After the battle, the militia continued to pursue Black Hawk.  On July 28th, near Spring Green, Wisconsin they caught up with Black Hawk and his British Band at the mouth of the Bad Axe River.  Here a decisive battle took place between Black Hawks men and the United States Army regular and militia between August 1 and August 2nd.  It was a mostly one-sided affair where the soldiers killed everyone who tried to run for cover or cross the river including women and children.  Most Of the 400 to 500 Sauk and Fox Indians at Bad Axe were killed, while other escaped across the river only to be caught by Sioux warriors acting in support of the U.S. Army.  The event became known as the Bad Axe Massacre.  It was a decisive victory for the United States and an end to the Black Hawk war allowing much of present-day Illinois and Wisconsin to be opened for further settlement.

In his 1832, State of the Union Address, President Jackson made it very clear what his intentions were.   He called on Generals Scott and Atkinson and the Illinois State militia to "entirely defeat" the Indians.  Jackson declared that after "a harassing warfare", Black Hawk's band was either dispersed or destroyed.   Jackson remarked that the lesson was severe but was necessary because of their "unprovoked aggressions" and he hoped that it would leave a lasting impression on them.

"The hostile incursions of the Sac and Fox Indians necessarily led to the interposition of the Government. A portion of the troops, under Generals Scott and Atkinson, and of the militia of the State of Illinois were called into the field. After a harassing warfare, prolonged by the nature of the country and by the difficulty of procuring subsistence, the Indians were entirely defeated, and the disaffected band dispersed or destroyed. The result has been creditable to the troops engaged in the service. Severe as is the lesson to the Indians, it was rendered necessary by their unprovoked aggressions, and it is to be hoped that its impression will be permanent and salutary."

References

Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2019). Fourth Annual Message | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/fourth-annual-message-3 [Accessed 12 Dec. 2019].

Lambert, Joseph I. “The Black Hawk War: A Military Analysis.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984), vol. 32, no. 4, 1939, pp. 442–473. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40187918.

En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Battle of Bad Axe. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bad_Axe [Accessed 12 Dec. 2019].

En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Battle of Wisconsin Heights. [onlineonsin_Height] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wiscs [Accessed 12 Dec. 2019].

En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Black Hawk War. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk_War# [Accessed 12 Dec. 2019].