Black Hawk War
The 1832 Black Hawk War was the last Indian War in the United States east of the Mississippi River .
In 1804, the governor of the Indiana Territory , General Harrison , signed a treaty with the Sauk and Fox in St. Louis to sell their land east of the Mississippi. However, they should be allowed to stay there as long as the land is owned by the US federal government. In return, they received $ 2,234.50 in goods and an annual payment of $ 1,000. In 1809 this area became part of the Illinois Territory , which became the State of Illinois in 1818 .
In the late 1820s, the American government decided to relocate all Illinois Indians to make way for settlers. The Indian agent Thomas Forsyth informed the Sauk in May 1828 that they had to move to the west side of the Mississippi. He invoked the treaty of 1804. The Sauk chiefs denied that they had ever ceded land. However, the view prevailed that they had nothing to oppose the Americans. In the fall of 1829 they therefore moved to the other side of the Mississippi into what is now Iowa and vowed never to return. On July 15, 1830, a new contract was signed at Prairie du Chien .
However, Chief Black Hawk returned with some men in the spring of the following years. Many settlers left their new homes out of fear. Black Hawk invoked the contract; since not all of the land has been sold, it is his right to be here. However, Illinois Governor John Reynolds saw this as an invasion and called a militia together to drive the Indians "dead or alive" to the other side of the Mississippi. General Gaines then promised troop aid if talks with Black Hawk were unsuccessful.
Gaines met with the Sauk chiefs east of the Mississippi in June 1831. Most said they would return. Black Hawk sought help from neighboring Kickapoo , Winnebago, and others. However, when the troops received reinforcements from the militia, the best-known member of which was Abraham Lincoln a year later , Black Hawk gave in on June 30, 1831 and returned west.
A little later, the Winnebago prophet White Cloud invited the Sauk to his homeland, which was close to the old homeland of the Sauk. On April 6, 1832, Black Hawk crossed the Mississippi with 400 men and their families with peaceful intent. But when one of his emissaries was gunned down, Black Hawk swore revenge. On August 1 and 2, his force was defeated by volunteers under General Atkinson on the Bad Ax River . On August 27, Black Hawk surrendered and was captured. Black Hawk was released in August 1833. According to him, this is Black Hawk County , Iowa named.
On September 21, 1832, the Sauk ceded their Illinois land for $ 640,000. Although Chief Black Hawk was not involved, this act came to be known as the Black Hawk Purchase . The land that was overwritten was also called the Black Hawk Purchase .
Web links
- about Black Hawk (English)
- Black Hawk War (English)