The Black Hawk War Including a Review of Black Hawk's Life
difficulties which were needlessly created by this miserable spirit
of independence. But by appointing officers of the regular
establishment on his personal staff, requesting General Atkinson to
accept some of the militia on his staff,[294] which he cheerfuly
did, and finally instructing others in the gentle art of “mixing” he
was finally able to overcome almost every obstacle which arose.
Officers of the militia were invited to mess with the regulars, and
vice versa, and through the friendly offices of the Governor,
Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were brought together for the
first time and “messed” at Mr. Dixon’s table.
Albert Sidney Johnston, then a second lieutenant, accompanied the
expedition from Jefferson Barracks and was appointed on the
Governor’s staff with Robert Anderson. Lieutenant Johnston’s
journal, kept regularly during the entire campaign, and which is
fortunately preserved to us at this day, is a valuable and
entertaining document.
When Atkinson was ordered to the front, Lieut. Robert Anderson was
at Jefferson Barracks making an inspection. Asking and obtaining
leave to accompany the expedition, he was appointed Assistant
Inspector-General of the militia, and, as before stated, made a
member of the Governor’s staff, with the rank of Colonel.
Gen. W.S. Harney, then a captain, and Jefferson Davis, then a
lieutenant, were both absent on furlough when Black Hawk crossed the
Mississippi, but on hearing of his purpose, each at once returned,
rejoined his regiment at the mouth of Rock River and continued
throughout the campaign to its close.[295]
The season was unusually rainy, and by the time the troops had
reached Dixon’s Ferry they were nearly exhausted with fording creeks
and towing the unmanageable keel boats up the river, many times
wading waist deep in mire and water to propel them.
Stillman had been defeated on the 14th, and by the time General
Atkinson’s forces reached the ferry the militia and its officers
were a panicky lot.
The War Department at Washington shows that Lieut. Jefferson Davis
applied for a leave of absence and left Fort Crawford to go upon the
same on the 26th day of March, 1832, and that he formally rejoined
his command from leave August 18th, 1832, sixteen days after the
battle of the Bad Axe, the last engagement of the campaign, which
would inferentially indicate that he was absent from duty all the
time between those dates and inferentially not in the campaign.
In a letter written by Mr. Davis on the 8th day of August, 1882,
from Beauvoir, Mississippi, to Gen. George W. Jones of Dubuque,
Iowa, he stated: “In the spring of 1832 I was relieved by Lieut.
I.R.B. Gardenier, as private matters required me to go to
Mississippi, my home. * * *”
So far there is no conflict. But while his official letter
acknowledging his return to his regiment is not dated till August
18th, he was present in flesh and blood from start to finish,
delaying that perfunctory duty until he was once more back to
quarters and relieved of the fatigues and manifold annoyances of a
campaign through swamps and bogs and innumerable privations. And
while touching upon the general subject of war records, I beg to
state that I attended the funeral of an officer killed at the battle
of Shiloh–literally shot to pieces–yet there stands to this day
against his name in the Adjutant-General’s reports this “record:”
“Absent on furlough.” The officer had no opportunity to take the
furlough, and it took the affidavits of half the town to make the
department believe he was not actually alive. The facts in the case
are exactly stated by Col. William Preston Johnston, late President
of Tulane University, in his very interesting “Life of General A.S.
Johnston,” at page 36: “Jefferson Davis, who was with General Gaines
in his operations in 1831, was absent on furlough in Mississippi
when the Black Hawk war broke out, but gave up his furlough, and,
joining his company, served in the campaign.” This was told him by
Mr. Davis himself when Colonel Johnston was writing the book, as
well as many other little incidents, including one of Stillman’s
defeat, and should be regarded as conclusive for all time. But as
various writers, with more regard for revenue than right, have
sought to discredit the truth because a negative inference from the
record gave them the opportunity of avoiding a little labor, I have
collected from various sources a complete detail of Mr. Davis’
movements during the campaign.
On the 17th day of May, when General Atkinson arrived at Dixon’s
Ferry, the militia were discontented, disconcerted and on the verge
of insubordination. Governor Reynolds had on the morning of the 15th
issued a call for two thousand more troops to rendezvous at
Hennepin, and only by the most frantic appeals had he been able to
hold the others together until Atkinson arrived.
It is true the provisions had been exhausted and the volunteers were
living on less than half rations, but it is equally true that this
was due entirely to their own improvidence and wastefulness.
The troops under Stillman, after their defeat on the 14th, had
consented to remain in the service to protect the frontier until a
new levy could be raised. Accordingly, so soon as they returned from
the burial of their dead, on the 16th, the Fifth Regiment was
organized, and on the following day, when the troops under the
commanding general arrived, the regiment was sworn into the United
States service.
On the 15th Strode, who was colonel and commander of the militia of
Jo Daviess County, had been instructed to hasten back to the mines
and organize his forces to protect that very important frontier,
which all recognized as the one to suffer from the attacks of the
Indians at almost any hour. He quickly returned, but, being utterly
unable to manage the intractable spirits of that locality, he had
declared martial law. This act inflamed the people to a high degree
of passion and rumors of its effects had reached the ears of
Governor Reynolds.
General Atkinson was consulted at once on his arrival, and Lieut.
Jefferson Davis and two or three other officers were detailed to go
post haste to Galena and, if possible, bring order out of the chaos
which Strode had precipitated.
The departure of Lieutenant Davis on the 17th and his mission to
Galena have been related to me by Mr. Dixon on more than one
occasion. Fortunately, others remembered the circumstance and
reduced it to writing, making a mistake impossible on that point.
Among the many documents which have come to my attention in
connection with this search is an old yellow letter in the
possession of Gen. John C. Smith of Chicago, written to him years
ago by H. Hezekiah Gear, who was a captain and served throughout the
Black Hawk campaign. Captain Gear was a man of character and
influence in the community and his memory or veracity has never yet
been called into question. This letter details this very visit in a
concise yet luminous fashion:
“I had a partial acquaintance with Lieut. Jefferson Davis. I had a
partial acquaintance with him when this whole domain was under
savage rule, except ten miles square about Galena and western
garrisons. He was, I _think_, at the Winnebago disturbance in 1827.
He was at Fort Winnebago on the Wisconsin River, and in 1832
stationed at Prairie du Chien, in the then Colonel Taylor’s
regiment.
“He came at the commencement of the Sauk and Fox war to Galena to
counsel with us in relation to defense, with a number of officers,
his superiors, for a day or so.
“At the same time the Governor of Illinois, by proclamation, called
every able-bodied man into the field. Came to Galena on Saturday;
all in commotion. Colonel Strode commanding.
“We held a council of war, yet had no arms. I urged them to have
spontoons forged. He gave me the order to have 250 manufactured, I
remember, and on Monday morning I brought them into quarters, when I
then mounted my horse to go to the diggings, when I was accosted by
the Colonel: ‘Where are you going, Gear?’ ‘To plant my potatoes.’
‘What, leave us here to take care of your family?’ ‘No, I act as a
picket guard,’ having my rifle on my shoulder.
“‘Gear, we cannot spare you.’ ‘Why?’ said I. He said, ‘The Governor
had called every able-bodied man into the field.’ I looked along the
crowd and he had a company of about sixty.[296] ‘Are these all?’ was
my reply. ‘Yes,’ was his answer. ‘Why,’ said I, ‘I can raise more
men at the sound of a whistle. Now there is but one to command and
the balance to obey, Colonel, if we are in such danger. Now would
you dare declare martial law, as General Jackson did at New
Orleans?’ He then said as Nathan said to David, ‘Thou art the man;
make out your order now and I will see it obeyed.’ I dismounted at
once, armed and equipped, shortly reporting at his headquarters,
where his order was handed me, countersigned by the adjutant. I,
reading, replied, ‘It was a good order, but do you suppose a soul
will obey me? No, not one, unless I have a force sufficient to carry
it out. Will you give me a sergeant’s guard?’ ‘I will.’ ‘Will you
give me that fife and drum?’ ‘I will.’ ‘I will see it carried to the
extent of my life.’
“I that day raised 240 recruits, was appointed officer of the day,
had sixty-four to mount for guard; got quarters for my men and
rations and part of their blankets, and refused other blankets that
would not pass muster by me as a soldier’s blanket; put the
commissary in mud in the streets of Galena, for endeavoring to pass
them on my men, and the next day received a pair of blankets for
all. Well, the last round: I told the boys we would have some sport.
“Mrs. Barnes kept a bakery house on Brush street, which was the
quarters of several officers of the United States Army.
“B. Miller, Esq., called the Chesterfield of the bar of Illinois,
was there cracking jokes, and I halted at their quarters,
requesting orders to report. He said to fall into line. ‘What are
you going to do with us?’ ‘The army wants just such men as you.
Now we will find a place for you.’ I then made my bow to Captain
Kearney, or Major Harney, I do not know which. ‘Will you and your
brother officers fall into line? We belong to the United States
Army.’ ‘Well, then, read them the Governor’s proclamation and the
order from Colonel Strode of the Twenty-seventh Regiment declaring
martial law. Now, gentlemen, you know my duty, and if you hail
General Jackson you will march. Now I cannot discharge my duty by
leaving you behind, but the Colonel can dispose of you after you
arrive in headquarters.’ So we all fell into line, and under
double-quick marched to quarters.
“Now their names were as follows, to wit: Captain Harney, Captain
Kearney, Lieutenant Anderson, Lieutenant Gardenier, Lieutenant Jeff
Davis.”
Those companies were formed at Galena on the 19th day of May, and
the presence of Lieut. J.R.B. Gardenier on that day, as mentioned by
Captain Gear, is substantiated by reference to page 138 of a “Record
of the Services of Illinois soldiers in the Black Hawk War,”
published by the Adjutant-General of Illinois in 1882, where it will
be found that Lieut. J.R.B. Gardinier acted as commandant of
Nicholas Dowling’s company from May 19th to July 14th, “by request.”
Captain Gear takes considerable credit unto himself for the
accomplishment of this muster, but that is a latitude allowed every
person who narrates a statement of fact so prominent, and especially
when so successful. He has the detail of Strode’s order a trifle
confused, but that is of no consequence when the story is considered
as a whole. He has given the days of the week with such accuracy
that there remains no reason to doubt the statement of John Dixon,
which it confirms.