Trails to the Past

Iowa

Black Hawk County

 

 

 

Trails to the Past of Iowa is accepting any donations of genealogy materials that you may have such as marriage announcements, news articles, old obituaries, births, (you do not need the birth certificate) just the information, and biographies.  If you have any of these items please contact me Marie Miller the Iowa State Administrator.

The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crossed the Mississippi River, into the U.S. state of Illinois, from Iowa Indian Territory in April 1832. Black Hawk's motives were ambiguous, but he was apparently hoping to avoid bloodshed while resettling on tribal land that had been ceded to the United States in the disputed 1804 Treaty of St. Louis.

U.S. officials, convinced that the British Band was hostile, mobilized a frontier militia and opened fire on a delegation from the Native Americans on May 14, 1832. Black Hawk responded by successfully attacking the militia at the Battle of Stillman's Run. He led his band to a secure location in what is now southern Wisconsin and was pursued by U.S. forces. Meanwhile, other Native Americans conducted raids against forts and settlements largely unprotected with the absence of U.S. troops. Some Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi warriors with grievances against European-Americans took part in these raids, although most tribe members tried to avoid the conflict. The Menominee and Dakota tribes, already at odds with the Sauks and Meskwakis, supported the U.S.

Commanded by General Henry Atkinson, the U.S. troops tracked the British Band. Militia under Colonel Henry Dodge caught up with the British Band on July 21 and defeated them at the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. Black Hawk's band was weakened by hunger, death, and desertion and many native survivors retreated towards the Mississippi. On August 2, U.S. soldiers attacked the remnants of the British Band at the Battle of Bad Axe, killing many or capturing most who remained alive. Black Hawk and other leaders escaped, but later surrendered and were imprisoned for a year.

The Black Hawk War gave the young captain Abraham Lincoln his brief military service, although he never participated in a battle. Other participants who later became famous included Winfield Scott, Zachary Taylor, and Jefferson Davis. The war gave impetus to the U.S. policy of Indian removal, in which Native American tribes were pressured to sell their lands and move west of the Mississippi River and stay there.

On Line Data

Cities
Cedar Falls
Dunkerton
Elk Run Heights
Evansdale
Gilbertville
Hudson
Janesville
Jesup
La Porte City
Raymond
Waterloo
Census-designated place
Washburn
Other unincorporated communities
Dewar
Eagle Center
Finchford
Glasgow
Voorhies
Townships
Barclay
Bennington
Big Creek
Black Hawk
Cedar
Cedar Falls
Eagle
East Waterloo
Fox
Lester
Lincoln
Mount Vernon
Orange
Poyner
Spring Creek
Union
Washington

 

Adjacent counties
Bremer County (north)
Buchanan County (east)
Benton County (southeast)
Tama County (southwest)
Grundy County (west)
Butler County (northwest)
Fayette County (northeast)

Chief Black Hawk

 

Webspace has been generously provided by
Genealogy Village and Access Genealogy Thank You!

 

The information on Trails to the Past  copyright ©     may be used in personal family history research, with source citation. The pages in entirety may not be duplicated for publication in any fashion without the permission of the owner. Commercial use of any material on this site is not permitted.  Please respect the wishes of those who have contributed their time and efforts to make this free site possible.~Thank you!