Sinsinawa Mound raid
Sinsinawa Mound raid | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Black Hawk War | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
United States |
Fox of Black Hawk's "British Band" | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
James W. Stephenson | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
3 | unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2 killed | 0 |
The Sinsinawa Mound raid occurred on June 29, 1832, near the Sinsinawa mining settlement in Michigan Territory (present-day Grant County, Wisconsin in the United States). This incident, part of the Black Hawk War, resulted in the deaths of two men; a third man survived by seeking cover in a nearby blockhouse. In the aftermath of the raid, Captain James W. Stephenson set out to pursue the attackers—a straggling band of Sauk Native Americans—but lost their trail at the Mississippi River. The attack occurred in the same week as other skirmishes and raids, and as a result helped contribute to the growing fear in the region. The raid caused the residents of nearby Platteville to consider fleeing their settlement.
Background
As a consequence of an 1804 treaty between the
The period between Stillman's Run and the raid at Sinsinawa Mound was filled with war-related activity. A series of attacks at Buffalo Grove, the Plum River settlement, Fort Blue Mounds and the war's most famous incident, the Indian Creek massacre, all took place between mid-May and late June 1832.[3] The week before the Battle of Apple River Fort (on June 24) was an important turning point for the settlers: between June 16 and 18 two key battles, one at Waddams Grove and the other at Horseshoe Bend, played a role in changing public perception about the militia after its defeat at Stillman's Run.[4][5][6] The Battle of Apple River Fort occurred five days before the Sinsinawa Mound raid; the fight was a 45-minute gun battle between defenders garrisoned inside Apple River Fort and Sauk and Fox warriors led by Chief Black Hawk himself.[7]
Prelude
Map of Black Hawk War sites Battle (with name) Fort / settlement Native village Symbols are wikilinked to article |
Attack
On June 29, 1832, what was probably a small band of Sauk attacked three men working in a cornfield at the Jones mining settlement near Sinsinawa Mound.
Aftermath
When news of the raid reached Galena, Illinois, Captain James W. Stephenson set out with thirty soldiers to pursue the raiding party.[13] Arriving at Sinsinawa Mound, they buried the two "most shockingly mutilated" settlers there; both Thompson and Boxley had been scalped and Thompson's heart had been removed.[14] Stephenson then followed the Sauk trail to the Mississippi River where it went cold, the raiders having apparently crossed the river. Stephenson's party returned to Galena empty handed.[12] Henry Dodge ordered the various elements of the militia to rendezvous at Fort Hamilton to eventually join General Henry Atkinson near present-day Madison, Wisconsin. When word of the attack at Sinsinawa Mound reached George W. Jones he left the volunteers under the command of Dodge and returned to the settlement at the mound.[12]
The attack at Sinsinawa Mound, compounded by other incidents around the region, helped contribute to the fear gripping the settlers.
Notes
42°31′23″N 90°32′36″W / 42.52306°N 90.54333°W
- ^ a b Lewis, James. "Blackhawk War: Phase Three". Lincoln / Net, Northern Illinois University. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
- ^ "May 14: Black Hawk's Victory at the Battle of Stillman's Run," Historic Diaries: The Black Hawk War, Wisconsin State Historical Society. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
- ^ "May 21, Indian Creek, Ill.: Abduction of the Hall Sisters," Historic Diaries: The Black Hawk War, Wisconsin State Historical Society. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
- ^ "James Stephenson Describes the Battle at Yellow Creek, Historic Diaries: The Black Hawk War, Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
- ^ "June 16: Henry Dodge Describes The Battle of the Pecatonica," Historic Diaries: The Black Hawk War, Wisconsin State Historical Society. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
- ^ "June 16: Peter Parkinson Recalls the Battle of the Pecatonica," Historic Diaries: The Black Hawk War, Wisconsin State Historical Society. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
- ^ Harmet, A. Richard. "Apple River Fort Site Archived 2007-10-31 at the Wayback Machine, (PDF), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, March 31, 1997, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
- ^ Ira A. Williams. "Lost in an Iowa Blizzard". The Palimpsest, Vol. 2, No. 1, January 1921, pp. 1-15.
- ^ Tri-State Old Settlers' Association. "Impromptu Speech of George W. Jones," Report of the Organization and First Reunion of the Tri-State Old Settlers, (Google Books), Tri-State Printing Co.: 1884, pp. 43–44. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
- ^ Koch, Kevin. "Manitoumie. Sinsinawa." Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley, Issue 6.1. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
- ^ "Enoch Robinson," History of Grant County, Wisconsin, 1881, p. 919, transcribe at rootsweb.com. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f Braun, Robert A. "Black Hawk's War April 5 - August 2, 1832: A Chronology," September 2001, Old Lead Historical Society, p. 2. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
- ^ a b Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, (Google Books), State Historical Society of Wisconsin: 1908, p. 280. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
- ^ ISBN 0805077588). Retrieved August 13, 2007.
- ^ Strong, Moses McCure. History of the Territory of Wisconsin, from 1836 to 1848, (Google Books), Democrat Printing Co.: 1885, p. 144. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
- ^ a b Wilgus, James A. "History of Old Platteville". Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 28, no. 1, (September 1944), p. 76. Retrieved May 19, 2018.