Satterlee Clark

[Robert Braun]

According to his 1870s account, Sattlerlee Clark was with Pierre Pauquette and the Winnebago guides.

Towit:

The enemy, in the meantime, went to the Four Lakes where, as I learned later, they were advised to cross the Wisconsin and the Mississippi as soon as possible. A few reliable Winnebagoes under Peter Pauquette and myself were secured for scouts. We had no difficulty in following their trail, and gained upon them rapidly, overtaking them on the bank of the Wisconsin about twenty-five miles below, where the battle of Wisconsin was fought. That battle made many heroes, and so it should.

About one hundred and twenty half-starved Indians defended the pass against nearly three thousand whites, while the remainder of the Indians in plain sight were crossing the Wisconsin with the women and children, and as soon as these were safe, the Indians broke and ran. Then came the struggle for scalps. Every man who could run started down the hill at his top speed, my Indian scouts and myself far ahead of the militia, and I was about thirty feet ahead of them all. Just as I commenced raising the hill on the other side of the valley, Pauquette passed me on horseback; and as he went by I caught his horse by the tail and held on till we reached the top of the hill, where we found four dead Indians; Pauquette took one scalp, I took one, and the Indian scouts took the other two. The Indians lost four killed all told, and the whites one. This ended the battle of the Wisconsin, about which so much has been written.

Is there any verification that Clark was indeed present at Wisconsin Heights?

Regards, Bob.

[Larry Koschkee]

Sorry, I do not have any information placing "Sat" Clark at Wisconsin Heights, however I do have a question.

Within the 1879 account that you provided an excerpt from, Clark said he grabbed "a small Ruggles rifle" and left Fort Winnebago destined to Lake Koshkonong to seek help from General Atkinson.

What is a "Ruggles rifle"?

Larry

[Robert Braun]

Larry, et al.

As best as I can determine, the weapon MAY be a so-called "pocket rifle" made by A. Ruggles of Stafford Connecticut.

Basically, the "pocket rifle" was a pistol-sized weapon with a 3 in. to 12 in. rifled barrel; a long, graceful maple grip, and percussion underhammer ignition. Late in the 1830s, a detachable shopulder stock was made by some owners of this rifle, presumably to increase accuracy.

I cannot document the arrival of such pocket rifles in say St. Louis until the fall of 1837. Perhaps Satterlee brought his with him to the West, or had it shipped there from the East. There were numerous makers in New England, and several examples of underhammer pocket rifles reside in the collection fo Old Sturbridge Village, and are severally dated from 1830-1833 and later.

I suggest that Clark's mention of "small" meant a shorter barreled version of the Ruggles pocket rifle.

Regards,

Bob.

[Larry Koschkee]

Bob,

Thanks for that interesting bit of information on the rifle.

Forever curious, I referenced your mention of the Old Sturbridge Village collection for a visual idea of what a "pocket rifle" may look like.

www.osv.org/learning/CollectionList.php?SG=16&G=7&A=BI

Larry

[Robert Braun]

I wonder what the response would be among the very small circle of Black Hawk War reenactors if someone showed up at a living history event and pulled an underhammer "Ruggles Rifle" out of their belt!



Har.

Bob.