RSS
Home | Military Conflict | Black Hawk War
|
|
|
Governor of Indiana Territory William Henry Harrison negotiated a treaty in 1804 with a group of Sauk and Fox leaders that ceded lands east of Mississippi River "forever". However these leaders had not consulted their full tribal councils and other leaders objected. The white population of the region grew rapidly after the War of 1812 and this led to increasing tensions with the Native American population. Black Hawk led a group of Native Americans to the ceded region during the winters of both 1830 and 1831, which the Illinois governor declared an "invasion". Federal troops were brought in, and Black Hawk's band was ordered to withdraw but refused. Hostilities began on May 14, 1832 when Black Hawk's band defeated militia at the Battle of Stillman's Run. The war primarily comprised a series of minor battles and skirmishes. A cholera epidemic severely reduced the manpower of the American forces. The war ended with a decisive victory for the militia at the Battle of Bad Axe on August 1-2, 1832. While many Native Americans stayed in the area, most of their leaders fled; Black Hawk and eight other Native American leaders were imprisoned. Several white Americans, such as Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, were able to boost their political careers as a result of involvement in the war, both going on to become presidents, of the United States and of the Confederate States, respectively. |