Wisconsin Heights Battlefield

[Gene]

I walked the Wisconsin Heights Battlefield today. It was very interesting...Thank you

[Robert Braun]

Wisconsin Heights is one of the best-preserved battlefields I have seen. It takes some doing to get your bearings, but once you do... the whole thing just unfolds before you.

According to DNR sources, archaeology indicates that the site, particularly the area near the parking area, is quite old. Their are a series of Indian mounds in the park as well... long cigar-shaped structures that also indicate the presence of ancient peoples. An old Sauk village supposedly was located near the 1832 battlegrouns; the tribe abandoned this site and moved to Saukenuk sometime before the French and Indian War.

I recall being told that Black Hawk knew of this area, that it was perfect for ambush, and that's why he wanted to lead the pursuing militia to abuscade in what we call "Spy's Ravine" today.

I don't buy this story for a variety of reasons. First... this is Winnebago land. WHile the Sauk hunted over a wide range, I rather doubt they came this far north, when their land holdings stretched south. Second, Black Hawk was being guided by Winnebago guides; General Henry and Col. Dodge were likewise guided by WInnebago from the portage. The Winnebago certainly knew of this area... probably because of the nearby village site and the general oral history regarding the area.

Finally, Black Hawk's major preocupation was not ambush-- rather, he was laboring to direct the crossing of the Wisconsin River by his people. One gets the impression that the rear-guard led by Na-pope was intended to provide an early warning in case of militia attack. When Na-pope deserted, the "early warning system" was gone, and I believe Black Hawk was surprised by the arrival of the lead militia element...the spy company led by Captain Dickson of Platteville.

A hasty ambush of militia in the ravine may have been on the mind of BH and his lieutenants, at one point or another. We may never know, because BH never really indicated in his autobiography that he was going to ambush anyone. Indeed he didn't... he attacked instead.

The ravine ended up being used, not as an ambush site, but a makeshift trench for the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo. After perhaps a half-hour of fruitless exchange of musketry, Henry permitted Dodge to charge the ravine and the area to the west and north at the point of the bayonet. This breaks the main point of native resistance, and Black Hawk directed a withdrawal to the river bank under cover of growing darkness.

[Gene]

I think your thoughts on Black Hawks intentions are correct, I see this as more of a good hiding place, Black Hawk it seems, may have let his guard down, thinking he was in a secure place. But as I indicated in my email to you, a good military commander would have immediately appreciated and exploited this ground.

[Robert Braun]

I agree with your comments on good commanders needing to exploit the ground. In a way, this happened!

Once the initial contact was made, Dodge was able to secure the high ground  (or "Militia Ridge") unitl General Henry's regiments arrived.

After the initial contact, BH or his lieutenants positioned their soldiers on the high ground (the spur of "Black Hawk's Mound") or in the west side of the ravine, using it as a natural trench. BH himself reported that he rode to the top of "Black Hawk's Mound" to observe the progress of the battle.

Neapope, with a party of twenty, remained in our rear, to watch for the enemy, whilst we were proceeding to the Wisconsin, with our women and children. We arrived, and had commenced crossing over to an island, when we discovered a large body of the enemy coming towards us. We were now compelled to fight, or sacrifice our wives and children to the fury of the whites. I met them with fifty warriors, (having left the balance to assist our women and children in crossing) about a mile from the river, when an attack immediately commenced. I was mounted on a fine horse, and was pleased to see my warriors so brave. I addressed them in a loud voice, telling them to stand their ground and never yield it to the enemy. At this time I was on the rise of a hill, where I wished to form my warriors, that we might have some advantage over the whites. But the enemy succeeded in gaining this point, which compelled us to fall into a deep ravine, from which we continued firing at them and they at us, until it began to grow dark. My horse having been wounded twice during this engagement, and fearing from his loss of blood that he would soon give out, and finding that the enemy would not come near enough to receive our fire, in the dusk of the evening, and knowing that our women and children had had sufficient time to reach the island in the Wisconsin, I ordered my warriors to return, by different routes, and meet me at the Wisconsin, and was astonished to find that the enemy were not disposed to pursue us.

Black Hawk was certainly visible (several eyewitnesses, notably Charles Bracken, aide de camp to Dodge, mention seeing BH astride a white horse o n top of the mound) and had an excellent vantage point. How effective he was in leading his troops from this detached position is a matter for further debate.

Black Hawk mentioned setting up an ambush in the Four Lakes area for the volunteers. They stopped short at the Yahara River and never continued to the proposed ambush site. However, here at what on its face looks like a tailor-made ambush site, BH apparently made no disposition to do so. Again.. my belief is that he was rightly preocupied with the movement of his people across the river and hopefully ahead of the militia.

He almost made it.  r.

[Pete Shrake]

Bob,

I believe you are correct on the reasons why the battle occured the way it did, However, I have one correction.

The statement that there was a large Sauk Village near the site prior to the French and Indian War is correct.

The village site was just up the river right on the site of the the twin villages of Sauk City and Prairie du Sac (hence also the name Sauk Prairie, and Sauk County)

You are correct in your statement that the HoChunk did dominate this region but tribes in Wisconsin had a tendency to ebb and flow over the land. When the French landed in Wisconsin the HoChunk had large land holdings which included the Sauk Prairie area. Then in a series of wars with both the French and other surrounding tribes, and through a series of epedemics the HoChunk became largely concentrated in a village near Green Bay. This was prior to the French and Indian War.

After recconciling with their enemies the HoChunk began to intermarry with other tribes and slowly began to rebuild their population. At sometime between the French and Indian War and the Revolution the HoChunk again reasserted themseves in this area and once again became a powerful tribe with holdings extending down into Illinois and as far north as Black River Falls.

In the end I still agree with you. It is quite probable that black Hawk was familiar with the region, but still, given the fact the the Sauk had abandoned the region perhaps as much as 60 years before the events of 1832, it is improbable that the attraction of an old village site is what brought Black Hawk to Wisconsin Heights.

Pete

[Robert Braun]

Great summary Pete, as usual.

If we agree that BH was not generally familiar with the area, and if we agree that the British Band was being guided by Winnebago guides, then this begs the question:

"Why did the British Band choose to cross at Wisconsin Heights?"

I don't have a $64,000 answer for that. My thinking is that this was an area familiar to the Winnebago guides... and they at least knew this pathway, or "a" pathway, for whatever reason, to the river. The proximity of the battle ground and crossing site to ancient cultural artifacts and mounds has to be more than coincidence.

Right?

Or was it just dang fool luck that the guides brought the BB to this spot?

[Pete Shrake]

Bob,

Part of me wants to say that the mounds played a role in guiding the Sauk/Fox to Wisconsin heights. Though neithor the Sauk nor the Hochunk were the probable builders of the mounds, they certainly considered them of high spiritual significance. With the fact that the Sauk once had a village nearby, it is plausable that oral tradition passed along the knowedge of the mounds. The same can be said for the HoChunk, as the primary land owners of the area, they would probably have had prior knowedge of the mounds. Unfortunately there is no real conclusive evidence to prove this assumption. Still, I would have to agree, the mounds probably played a role in getting Black Hawk to Wisconsin Heights.


Is it also possible that this particular point of the Wisconsin River was more easily crossable? I am not sufficiently familiar with the natural characteristics of the river at that point but was there something about the distance across or the swiftness of the current that might have made a crossing here more attractive than somewhere else??

Pete

[Larry Koschkee]

Gentlemen,

   If I may interject some additional view points into this thread.

  I submit that the "British Band" was remotely familiar with the significant topographic features on and south of the Wisconsin and Fox waterways because of their former occupation of those lands.  With that said, I further believe they relied heavily on their Winnebago guides for specific details of the landscape.  After all they were in the Winnebago Tribe's backyard.

  When Black Hawk made the decision to make a run for the Mississippi River from his encampment in the marshes of the Four Lakes region, he did not intend to cross the Wisconsin River rather he wanted to descend the river.  "we commenced moving, with five Winnebagoes acting as our guides, intending to descend the Quisconsin."  Therefore he was not seeking the best place to cross or ford the river.  He needed a secluded site on the river with suitable materials to build watercraft, i.e., canoes, rafts &c.  I suggest that is exactly what the Winnebago guides found for Black Hawk's Band

  When all hell broke loose his plans were changed with his immediate objective then being to get his people across the river out of harms way.

  If his intent was to cross the river, I am quite sure the Winnebago guides would have recommended a crossing up river across from the former 18th century Sauk Indian village.  This location gave the 19th century river pilots fits.  An alternative crossing would have been down stream at a place called High Banks in the vicinity of Tower Hill State Park.  An ancient Indian Trail crossed here.  This site would have been risky because of the Helena settlement and close proximity of Blue Mounds Fort.

Larry
 

[Robert Braun]

Some good thinking here, Larry.

A couple of comments...

First, I submit that few, if any in the Sauk/Fox community, lt alone the British Band,  had knowledge of the ground in/around the former Sauk village at present-day Sauk Prairie. They had not been established there more more than sixty years...almost three generations. I do agree with you that this was the Winnebago's "back yard," and their knowledge of the area would have been far more timely--hence the presence of guides.

Second, BH's intentions at first may well have been to go down the Wisconsin, as his autobiography indicated. However, I submit that the militia pursuit changed all that. With Henry and Dodge closing in from behind, he was forced to consider "escape," once "evasion" was no longer possible. He knew for at least one full day, and probably more, that the militia was on his track and closing. This likely inspired the thought of Na-pope and his blocking force... sent to make the militia deploy, stall their advance, and buy time for the crossing.

Na-pope's unexpected desertion nearly threw the whole plan into an ugly cocked hat.

[Larry Koschkee]

Not willing to "leave well enough alone", I feel the need to expand on my assertion that the Sauk/Fox were remotely familiar with the territory on and south of the Wisconsin and Fox waterways.

I think Pete Shrake made a good point about the continued presence of the Sauk/Fox peoples in the area due to frequent intermarriage with the Winnebagos plus the "ebb and flow" in and out of tribal territories.

Even though the Sauk/Fox had left the villages along the Wisconsin/Fox riverways and established a tribal center along the Rock River they still maintained a presence in the lead region of southern Wisconsin and eastern Iowa.  The Sauk/Fox gave Julien Dubuque special permission to mine on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River at a council in 1788.  This permit was confirmed and upheld by Spanish authorities.

The 1804 Treaty that the Sauk/Fox signed ceded their lands in Illinois and a slice of southern Wisconsin.  The northern boundary starting at Prairie du Chien continuing along the Wisconsin River to about where the Sauk Cities are today to the headwaters of the Pishtka (Illinois Fox River) in southeastern Wisconsin.
The "fine print" in this treaty was Article VII that provided that "The Indians might continue to live and hunt upon the land as long as lands which are now ceded to the United States remain their property. (This provision festered relations until the outbreak of the Black Hawk War).

In 1810 Julien Dubuque died and the business men from the east that took over his possessions tried to enter his diggings with about 60 white men.  The Sauk/Fox where there to prevent them from taking over.

Black Hawk and a party of 200 warriors went to Green Bay to meet with the British trader Robert Dickson in 1812.  Black Hawk wanted to raid American settlements along the Mississippi River and drive the "Long Knives" back to St. Louis.  Dickson gave him a British medal and a Union Jack flag and persuaded him to join the British fighting at Detroit.

The Sauk/Fox traded with the British at Prairie du Chien until 1815.

Black Hawk was in council with the British at Prairie du Chien in April of 1815 and was ambushing and harassing the American garrisons at Fort Howard in May.

1821 the Sauk/Fox were at a council in Prairie du Chien to commence a truce with the Sioux.  They were at Prairie du Chien again in 1825 for a Northwest Indian Peace Council and Treaty.

1827 they were in council with Lewis Cass at Butte des Morts at the start of Red Bird's War (Winnebago War).

1829 they were again in council at Prairie du Chien with Thomas McKenney.

So hopefully you can see were I am going with this.  The Sauk/Fox conducted a lot of activity in southern Wisconsin from their base on the Rock River.

Pete Shrake, the Indian Treaty Man, may correct me on my council or treaty dates. I welcome your input

Larry

[Robert Braun]

Again... some great points here.

I argue that the knowledge gained by the occasional Sauk/Fox delegations to various treaty gatherings, the odd hunting party, or those Sauk/Fox who chose to intermarry with the Winnebago or whomever was insufficient to provide adequate land navigation over hundreds of miles of roadless wilderness in present-day Wisconsin. And, in so doing, wind up EXACTLY at an ancient site within a mile of the Wisconsin River.

To return to my original point... I think BH was guided to what would become the Wisconsin Heights battleground for reasons other than the fact that Spy's Ravine happened to be a dandy ambush site. Ambush  was not on his mind; escape and evasion was on his mind.

[Gene]

I just finished reading Crawford Thayers book about the battle of Wisconson Heights.  I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a good look at what occurred there. This story is crying out to made into a movie!

[Nhoffman01]

Hello,

I plan on visiting Wisconsin Heights battlefield this weekend and I was wondering if I could get some directions once I reach the city of Sauk City.

I am EXTREMELY excited to finally see the battlefield. ;D

Thanks a lot,
Nick Hoffman

[Peter Shrake]

Hi Nick,

Its quite easy, you take Highway 12 east out of Sauk City. At the first stop and go light intersection just east of the Wisconsin River you turn south, the only way you can turn, onto Highway 78. HWY 78 will take you right past the battlefield. Watch for a state higway marker about two miles or so on your left. There is a small wayside pullover where you can park. Immediately behind the state historical sign you will see a trail that will take you up and into the battlefield.

Happy tramping!

Pete Shrake

[Nhoffman01]

Thanks a lot for the directions!

Now if I can just get my BHW Militia clothing finished I might be able to attend a few events next year too!

Has anyone ever considered an event at Wisconsin Heights?

Thanks a lot,
Nick Hoffman