Battle of Bad Axe

In 1804, the Treaty of St. Louis was signed between the United States of America and a delegation of the Sac and Fox nations led by Sac chief Quashquame. The terms of treaty meant that vast amounts of land in modern day Illinois and southern Wisconsin would be ceded to the United States to be used for white settlement in the Great Lakes. The treaty was widely resented by the Sac people, who believed that the terms of the treaty were not fully understood at the point of signing. As settlers moved into the region, many were forced to move west of the Mississippi river. A group of the displaced people called the “British Band” led by Sac chief Black Hawk, migrated back to the region of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin that had been sold to the United States Government in the Treaty of St. Louis.

           Both sides understood the high potential for future conflict. In the War of 1812, the Sauk and Fox had fought on the side of the British, and in the coming conflict, Black Hawk counted on the support of the British and other indigenous groups in the region. In May, Black Hawk realized that the level of support necessary for a prolonged conflict with United States forces would not arrive, and an attempt to discuss diplomacy with United States forces spiraled into the Battle of Stillman’s Run, an embarrassing loss for the United States. With tensions already high between the United States and the indigenous people of the Great Lakes and beyond, United States forces became determined to win the growing war with Black Hawk’s “British Band”.

           The war continued with intermittent engagements until late July, where United States forces, who increasingly wanted a quick end to their war with Black Hawk’s forces, was able to catch up in southern Wisconsin. Black Hawk found himself in a particularly precarious position. The number of United States combatants had grown by this stage in the conflict, he was low on supplies to keep his people fed, and any conflict posed a mortal danger to the women and children that accompanied him. Things had grown truly dire.

           In early August, Black Hawk spotted a Steamboat on the Mississippi River. He called to the boat, carrying white cotton attracted to a pole, hoping that his people could surrender, or, at the very least, that the women and children could be evacuated to spare them from future conflict. The boat began to open fire on Black Hawk’s forces, who fired back in return. Following the exchange, Black Hawk advised his people that they should try to cross the Mississippi if it would be possible for them to do so, and that he would be attempting to reach Chippewa country.

           Early in the morning, a portion of the United States forces found Black Hawk’s group. Many were still attempting to cross the Mississippi, including women and children. An attempt was made to surrender, but the United States forces ignored it, and began senselessly slaughtering every member of Black Hawk’s “British Band” they could find. Sensing that the United States’ forces would give no opportunity for surrender, women and children took to trying to swim to the other bank of the Mississippi while Black Hawk’s warriors fought to their last breath. It was then that the Steamboat they had stumbled upon before, “The Warrior” returned and opened fire.

           The massacre was later called the Battle of Bad Axe, and it marked the end of the Black Hawk War of 1832. As the women and children in Black Hawk’s party tried to cross the Mississippi River, many drowned or were shot in the water. The massacred dead that remained on the riverbank of the Mississippi were scalped by the United States forces. Many that were able to escape the battle and cross the river were tracked down and killed by Sioux warriors acting on behalf of the United States. Within a few weeks of the Battle of Bad Axe, almost all of the hundreds of men, women, and children that made up Black Hawk’s forces were killed. Black Hawk himself surrendered and was taken into the custody of United States. He died several years later in 1838.

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           https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_Bluff_Prairie.jpg

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