Dr. Kerry Trask - Author

[Larry Koschkee]

Trask, the author of the recent publication BATTLE FOR THE HEART OF AMERICA, was interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio program Larry Meiller on May 22, 2007. Did anyone else catch the program? If not it can heard by accessing the audio archives at:

wpr.org and click on Larry Meiller audio archives.

Because of the 175th anniversary of the BHW this author has been in many interview venues and quite franklly, continues to not have his facts straight in many cases. In addition, he comes up with some absurb statements. You find examples in the WPR interview. Some statements I take issue with is:

1) The Indian losses at Wisconsin Heights Battle was sixty (60).

2) At the Battle of Bad Axe the Mississippi River changed colors because of the blood spewed.

3) Atkinson's command at the time of Battle of Bad Axe was 1400 to 1500 soldiers.

4) Henry Dodge moved to Galena in 1831 and moved into the Wisconsin Territory during the winter of 1831 - 1832. I guess Mr. Trask has not heard of The Winnebago War of 1827 when Dodge was already residing in the Wisconsin Territory and was a major player in those events.

Spend a half hour and listen to how far the academic historical community have progressed in bringing forth history.

Larry Koschkee

[Robert Braun]

Larry, et al:

I hope to be adding to this thread in the near future having waded through most of Dr. Trask's treatment of the Black Hawk War.

There are sections that I liked... and sections that I found... well..."lacking."

Stay tuned, all...

Bob

[Patrick Jung]

I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to consult Kerry Trask's book while finishing up my own book on the Black Hawk War. I found a few factual errors in Dr. Trask's book, but he saved me from committing a factual error or two myself, so I guess we can call it even. I think between our two books, that should be more than enough on the Black Hawk War for a while.

Patrick J. Jung

[Larry Koschkee]

Mr. Jung,

Your statement, " I THINK BETWEEN OUR TWO BOOKS, THAT SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH ON THE BLACK HAWK WAR FOR AWHILE," This remains to be seen and should be open for discussion. Until I can examine your publication I must reserve further judgment.

In passing, I will say, there is enough misinformation on the Black Hawk War and reputable, modern-day scholars continue to bring forth fresh material and perspective.

Respectively,

Larry Koschkee

[lrtronnes]

Dear Larry,

Thank you for your honest post regarding scholarly work on the Black Hawk War. I'm currently finishing my PHD about Ho-Chunk removals and returns in the 19th century and have fell into some very interesting rabbit holes regarding the role of Rock River Ho-Chunks in this so-called war. Obviously, I'm very late to this conversation. But I was compelled to reply. The best book by a scholar about the conflict called the Black Hawk War is by John Hall. The title is Uncommon Defense: Indian Allies in the Black Hawk War. Though I am not a scholar of the Black Hawk War specifically, I've gleaned more than enough from primary and secondary sources I've examined over the past several years to note major problems with the way certain recent scholars have interpreted Native actions and motivations in this conflict. Since Hall's work presents the best there is on this conflict, I think there's plenty more room (and need) for more scholarship on this conflict, scholarship that does a better job of incorporating Indigenous perspectives on the conflict and the stakes involved for their communities. We need more honest retellings of events that took place in the spring and summer of 1832 and in particular, we need a more nuanced reexamination of how we frame our discussion of this conflict. From the perspective of the Rock River Ho-Chunks, they chose the side of corn and homeland. But 99.9% of scholars force Ho-Chunks into a narrative with two sides: the Sauk and Fox and the Americans. That Ho-Chunks acted to preserve their autonomy seems lost on most scholars of the war who pay this otherwise obvious claim lip-service in their works but then lose sight of its significance as they go on about this "last great Indian War" in the region and never question the guilty verdict of brilliant Rock River Ho-Chunk leaders like White Crow. In other words, I find most recent narrative interpretations of the Black Hawk War to be astoundingly simplistic. They leave out the most interesting people and events that shaped this conflict, or worse, they misinterpret their actions and meanings.