The Black Hawk War Including a Review of Black Hawk's Life
and the inability of the small force to defend the post, and he as
quickly brought into the field a relief expedition.
Following is the best account extant upon the subject, repeated
verbatim:
From the Missouri Gazette, July 30, 1814.
DISASTER.
“As soon as Gov. Clark returned from his successful expedition to
Prairie du Chien, it was thought proper by Brigadier-General Howard,
commanding in this district (who had in the interim returned to this
place from Kentucky), to send a force to relieve the volunteers, and
preserve the acquisition so important to the welfare of our country.
For this purpose, Lieut. John Campbell of the first regulars, acting
as brigade major, was entrusted with the command of 42 regulars and 65
rangers, in three keel boats, the contractor’s and sutler’s boats in
company. The whole party, including boatmen and women, amounting to
about 133, reached Rock River, within 180 or 200 miles of the Prairie,
without any accident. As soon as they entered the rapids they were
visited by hundreds of Sacs and Foxes, some of the latter bearing
letters from the garrison above to St. Louis. The officers, being
unacquainted with Indian manners, imagined the savages to be friendly;
to this fatal security may be attributed the catastrophe which
followed. It appears that the contractor’s and sutler’s boat had
arrived near the head of the rapids and proceeded on, having on board
the ammunition, with a sergeant’s guard; the rangers, in two barges,
followed, and had proceeded two miles in advance of the commander’s
barge; the latter inclined to the east side in search of the main
channel, and being now on a lee shore, proceeded with much difficulty,
and as the gale increased were drifted into shoal water within a few
yards of a high bank covered with grass, waist high; a few steps from
the bow and stern an umbrage of willows set out from shore.
“In this position the commanding officer thought proper to remain
until the wind abated; sentries were placed at proper intervals, and
the men were occupied in cooking, when the report of several guns
announced an attack. At the first fire all the sentries were killed,
and before those on shore could reach the barge, 10 or 15 out of 30
were killed and wounded. At this time the force and intentions of the
Indians were fully developed. On each shore the savages were observed
in quick motion; some in canoes crossing to the battleground; others
were observed running from above and below to the scene of attack; in
a few minutes from five to seven hundred were assembled on the bank
and among the willows within a few yards of the bow and stern of the
barge; the Indians gave the whoop, and commenced a tremendous fire;
the brave men in the barge cheered, and returned the fire from a
swivel and small arms. At this critical juncture, Lieuts. Riggs and
Rector of the rangers, who commanded the two barges ahead, did not
hear the guns, but saw the smoke, and, concluding an attack was made,
dropped down. Riggs’ boat stranded about 100 yards below Campbell’s,
and Rector, to avoid a like misfortune and preserve himself from a
raking fire, anchored above; both barges opened a brisk fire on the
Indians, but as the enemy fired from coverts, it is thought little
execution was done.
“About one hour was spent in this unequal contest, when Campbell’s
barge was discovered on fire, to relieve which Rector cut his cable
and fell to windward of him, and took out the survivors. Finding he
could not assist Riggs, having a number of wounded on board, and in
danger of running on a lee shore, he made the best of his way to this
place, where he arrived on Sunday evening last.
KILLED AND WOUNDED.
“There were 3 regulars killed and 14 wounded; 2 died on their passage
to this place; 1 ranger killed and 4 wounded on board Lieut. Rector’s
barge. Brig.-Maj. Campbell and Dr. Stewart are severely wounded. Two
women and a child were severely wounded–one of the women and the child
are since dead. Just as we had finished detailing the above
unfortunate affair, we received the glad tidings of the arrival of
Lieut. Riggs at Cap au Gray; he lost 3 men killed and 4 wounded. Would
to Heaven we could account for the remaining 2 barges.
CONSOLATORY.
“As we were preparing the foregoing for press, gunboat Gov. Clark,
commanded by Capt. Yeizer, arrived here, in nine days from Prairie du
Chien, with the contractor’s and sutler’s barges, which were
fortunately relieved at the moment the Indians were about to board
them. From the officers of the Gov. Clark we have received the
following very important news from the Prairie: On the 17th inst. the
long-expected British force appeared in view. Marching from the
Ouisconsing toward the village, the line of the regular troops,
militia and Indians extended about 2 miles, with 24 flags flying. A
British officer arrived at the fort, demanding its surrender. Lieut.
Perkins returned for an answer that he was able and prepared to defend
the post entrusted to his charge. Before the return of the flag, the
British commenced a fire upon the Gov. Clark from a small battery of 1
or 2 three-pounders, which was immediately answered from a six-pounder
from the boat. Soon after firing commenced, a large body of Indians
and white troops crossed to the island which fronts the village, and
enabled them to fire on the boat at pistol-shot distance, and screen
themselves behind trees from the grape which incessantly poured from
the boat. In this manner the contest continued for two hours, until
the gunboat received several shot between wind and water, when it was
concluded to move down the river; by this movement down the narrow
channel they had to run the gauntlet through a line of musketry nearly
nine miles. On approaching the rapids, Capt. Yeizer sent his skiff
with nine men down to reconnoiter, who discovered Riggs’ boat engaged
with the Indians and Campbell’s barge on fire. These appearances
induced the boat’s crew to return, and the Indians to call to them to
come on shore, raising to their view the English flag, believing them
to be Mackinaw voyageurs. Before dispatching the reconnoitering boat,
the Gov. Clark joined the contractor’s and sutler’s boats. Those on
board were ignorant of the fate of the boats below, and would, within
half an hour, have been in the power of the savages, if they had not
thus been providentially snatched from destruction.
“Seven were wounded on board the Gov. Clark, namely, Lieut. Henderson
and Ensign St. Pierre, severely. Five privates were wounded; one died
on the way down the day after his leg was amputated.
“Every account of the attack on Campbell’s detachment reflects highest
encomium on the skill and undaunted bravery of Lieuts. Rector and
Riggs of the rangers. The former, after a contest of two hours and
twenty minutes, withdrew to a favorable position, which enabled him to
save the few regular troops as well from the flames which surrounded
them as the fury of the savages. The high wind which then prevailed,
and the loss of his anchors, prevented his rendering a like assistance
to Lieut. Riggs. The latter, though stranded and in a hopeless
situation, kept up an incessant fire on the Indians, and by a rusé de
guerre afforded his party an opportunity of making the savages feel
some of the consequences of their perfidy. He ordered his men to cease
firing for about ten minutes, and at the same time ordered howitzers
to be well loaded with grape, and the small arms to be in readiness.
The Indians, believing the rangers to be all killed, or that they had
surrendered, rushed down the bank to extinguish the fire on board
Lieut. Campbell’s barge and to board Riggs’. Our hero then opened upon
them a well-directed fire, which drove them in all directions, leaving
several of their dead behind.”
When Campbell reached Rock River he called upon Black Hawk with a
handful of men as an escort–so ridiculously small that Black Hawk
repeatedly stated he could have captured and put them all to death with
little or no effort. Campbell made the Indians presents, and in return
received from Black Hawk a solemn promise that no effort to assist the
British or disturb him in his ascent would be made by the Indians, but
during the night some powder arrived from the British, who had in the
meantime driven the Americans from Fort Selby, and sent it to Black Hawk
with instructions to use the same in case any Americans attempted to
pass his village to succor the garrison at Prairie du Chien.
Black Hawk had a very facetious way of putting that request into his
biography. He stated on page 56 that Campbell and his aids, after
holding a council with him, remained all day, and then after receiving
word during the night (along with the powder), that Prairie du Chien had
fallen, and that the British wished him to join them again: “I
immediately started with my party by land in pursuit, thinking that some
of their boats might get aground, or that the Great Spirit would put
them in our power if he wished them taken and their people killed.”
It is astonishing to note how frequently he confused the behests of the
British with those supposed to emanate from the Great Spirit!
While the men were helplessly floundering in the mud to extricate their
boat, which had run aground, Black Hawk was pouring a murderous fire
into their exposed ranks, and that, too, after promising the day
previous to be friendly. To reduce the hapless wretches still more, fire
was thrown by arrows into the sails, and the boat, likely to be
consumed, was abandoned; then the Indians plunged into the water and
drew it ashore. At this stage Black Hawk virtuously knocked in the heads
of all the kegs of whisky which he found in the hold, yet when he
retired down the river to the Fox village, opposite the mouth of Rock
River, he hoisted the British flag and when, immediately after, the
British came along with a keg of rum, Black Hawk and his band had a
great feast and dance,[31] ending the scene in a protracted and
hilarious spree. A refinement of the ethics of liquor-drinking quite
abstruse–this difference between whisky and rum!
Those British brought the Indians a gun which was used on the
defenseless Americans under Zachary Taylor a little later as Black Hawk
stated: “We were pleased to see that almost every shot took effect.”
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Footnote 24:
The moment Black Hawk returned, the Sacs of his village became
unusually active in their depredations.
Footnote 25:
This was one of the posts the British solemnly stipulated in the
treaty of Paris to turn over to the U.S.. but which they retained.
Footnote 26:
Niles Register, Vol. 6, p. 242.–June 11, 1814.
Footnote 27:
Niles Register, Vol. 6, p. 242.–June 11, 1814.
Footnote 28:
History generally records Dickson as a trader of good parts and not-
so savage as pictured during this war.
Footnote 29:
Niles Register, Vol. 6, p. 426.–Aug. 20, 1814.
Footnote 30:
Niles Register, Vol. 6, p. 390.–Aug. 6, 1814.
Footnote 31:
His autobiography.
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CHAPTER VIII.
MAJOR TAYLOR’S BATTLE–BATTLE OF THE SINK HOLE–VARIOUS MURDERS–BRITISH
AGENTS WITHDRAWN FROM ROCK RIVER COUNTRY.
Disturbances by the Sacs now followed so frequently that Major Zachary
Taylor, with a detachment of troops, was sent against that one