The Battle of Chouteau's Island

Kansas has a deep and complex history when looking at Native American conflicts within and surrounding the state. One of those very early conflicts being the battle of Chouteau's Island. When reviewing the event little is known about the battle of Chouteau's island in the spring of 1816. However, looking at the deep-rooted conflicts between Native American tribes as well as relationships between those tribes and the new coming European settlers can provide a clear image of the deep and expansive history that is in Kansas. It also provides a better context and understanding of the ideas, thoughts, and actions surrounding this battle.

There are always two sides to every story. Looking into both will allow the true sentiments and motives of each group to be better understood. There have been Native American people in Kansas dating all the way back to 12,000 years ago. Early tribes began as hunter-gatherer groups who typically remained close to the flint hills; these groups included the Wichita, Kansa, Pawnee, and Osage. Their nomadic behavior makes it hard to place a specific group in this area. As time went on, the groups tended to disperse, moving further away from one another and claiming territory as their own. The buffalo hunt also allowed tribes to follow a strong food source which made the flint hills a common hunting ground for many tribes (“American Indian Culture”).

Along with the Natives were French settlers who came to the area and were one of the largest groups of people to settle in the area prior to the Louisiana Purchase. The French were some of the first people to settle what is now the state of Kansas. They quickly began a relationship with the surrounding Native American tribes, specifically the Osage and the Pawnee. Many of the French people traded guns, metal, and alcohol to the Native Americans in exchange for furs they could then supply to the fur trade. The relationship between the French and the Native Americans tended to remain peaceful after early conflicts, with many French settlers marrying Native Americans. Many of these relationships came under strain following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; their children began to fight for the rights of Native American tribes in the area as well as their parent's marriages ("French Settlers in Kansas").

Some of the most famous French settlers to enter the area were the Chouteau brothers, whose wealth and influence can be traced back to before the territory was established. They are the other side of this story with an expansive history in trading and expansion. The Chouteau brothers could be seen as the picture-perfect mold for the American dream. Early on in his life, before 1755, when Auguste was no more than six years old, Auguste Chauteaus's father abandoned him and his mother in New Orleans. His mother would eventually meet another French settler, Laclede, and fall in love with him shortly before his brother Pierre Chouteau was born. Laclede became a father figure to both boys as they grew up in New Orleans prior to moving to St. Louis when Pierre was six. Laclede worked in the fur trade with Maxent, another successful fur trader in New Orleans who he had befriended. Pierre would later become a clerk for the fur company; however, as time passed, he would take on a much larger role. With financial pressure bearing down on them, Laclede and Maxen wanted to build a trading post north and were granted a monopoly on trade with Native American tribes located west of the Mississippi river. The business went bankrupt however the Chouteau brothers were still able to remain successful long after Laclede's passing. The two worked closely with Native Americans, specifically the Osage, where their trade was seen as honest and fair. Their strong financial connections through marriage and their business are what allowed the Chouteau brothers to be so successful ("The Chouteau Brothers”)

In the spring of 1816, Pierre and Auguste were looking to expand their trading territory, taking control of the area surrounding the Platte and Arkansas Rivers. Upon their return, the Chouteau Brothers and their group of trappers were ambushed by 200 Pawnee warriors looking to defend their land and prevent the pressure they were already feeling from settlers from getting any worse. The Chouteaus and the rest of their group worked quickly to cross the Arkansas river, landing on an island thick with trees. Using their packs and fur as a barricade to stave off the attack, their guns proved useful when outnumbered, with only one trapper being killed and three injured. The Pawnee suffered heavier losses despite outnumbering the fur traders, with seven warriors being killed ("Battler of Chouteau's Island").

In the grand scheme of things, the battle of Chouteau's Island was a small and inconsequential conflict between the Native Americans and European settlers pushing their way west following the Louisiana purchase. However, it set a precedent for the years of conflict and bloodshed between those settlers and Native Americans for years to come. Today there is little remaining in the memory of the battle at Chouteau's Island. The island itself no longer exists long gone thanks to erosion from the Arkansas River. All that remains to mark this conflict is a small historical marker in a golf course parking lot.

“American Indian Culture.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/tapr/learn/historyculture/american-indian-culture.htm.

“Battle of Chouteau's Island, Kansas.” Legends of America, 2022, https://www.legendsofamerica.com/battle-chouteaus-island/.

“The Chouteau Brothers.” SHSMO Historic Missourians, 27 Oct. 2022, https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/chouteau-brothers.

“French Settlers in Kansas.” Kansas Historical Society, Dec. 2020, https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/french-settlers-in-kansas/12203.