Sauk casualites?

[Robert Braun]

The number of slain militiamen continues to be debated... hovering between 10 and 12 depending on which writers one reads.

However, do we have a handle on the Sauk killed or wounded, from BH's forty man war party?

[Todd Price]

Your statement of "depending on which authors one reads" is well noted, but Mr. Allan Eckert stated 3 Sac warriors killed in his "Twilight of Empire". I've never seen an estimate of the actual wounded, but from the precipitate haste with which Stillman's force seems to have left the field of battle, it would seem little by way of return fire had been made, making any additional Sac deaths unlikely and any wounds probably slight. Again, this is just my own interpretation of the events. I am certainly not an expert on the subject.

[Robert Braun]

Speaking personally, I would not use Mr. Eckhart's work as either a reference or a source for the Black Hawk War.

While unquestionably a fast paced interesting read, there is too much "made up" stuff in his Twighlight of Empire for one to use it as a competent resource.

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Regards,

Bob Braun
Moderator.

[josef]

Well Bob:
Seeing as the militia dead and wounded were low for the men involved. I would have to guess that out of 40 indians that BH had with him in that battle he had a few wounded or dead but as the indians tended to carry off their dead who will ever know for sure. If you read BH's account of the battle he gives no clues either. My reason for BH's band suffering some dead would have been that Captain Adams with help held the hill where he is now buried. Any time you attack a determined foe in a fixed position you are going to sustain some wounded or dead how many depends on how good your basic battle skills are
Josef Kleffman

[Jeffrey]

I just re-checked Black Hawk's Biography and he does say there were three deaths on the Sauk side. It's a little complicated, as at one point he says there were five. I think this is because initially he thinks the three "truce flag" emissaries are killed. Later he says two of them escaped. That means one of the emissaries was killed and two of the "observers" who were watching at a bit of a distance. As I read it, he acknowledges no deaths when the 40 warriors make their charge at Stillman's militia.
As to whether Black Hawk tells the truth--I don't know. He does seem almost anal about remembering numbers of deaths in other battles narrated in the Autobiography. I suppose as a key military leader in the band, it was his job to know how many dead there were for the many bouts of story-telling to follow.
--Jeffrey

[josef]

You must remember that BH was writing this marrative to make himself look good, We know that one of the Flag bearers was killed for a fact just from the Militia accounts. Other then that we dont know but still I would imagine that the Indian side took some dead off the field with them but we will never know how many at this point, so its really a mute point

Josef Kleffman

[berns]

How many casualties were there?


Black Hawk claimed there were three Indians. The white men claimed there were seven. There were three Indian scouts, two Indians killed on the battlefield by Capt. Adams, and two found south of town near the body of Bird W Ellis.

www.comportone.com/cpo/genealogy/articles/localhistory/BlackHawkWar.htm

The following work was compiled and donated by: Armour Van Briesen, Stillman Valley, Illinois; Originally typed by Bertha Wallbloom of the North Central Illinois Genealogical Society; Presented by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Rockford, Chapter, Rockford, Illinois 5-101-IL. It is part of the State of Illinois Genealogical Records Committee. Permission to reprint given from James L Meissen, Ogle County Historian, Stillman Valley, Illinois