OCTOBER 3, 1838

SAUK AND FOX WARRIER/LEADER MAʽKATAWIMESHEKAʽKA (BLACK HAWK) DIED

Born circa 1767, in Saukenuk [now Rock Island, Illinois (IL)], Black Hawk and his followers aided the British in the War of 1812 and became known as the “British Band.” Claiming post-war treaties requiring the Sauk and Fox to move west of the Mississippi River to be fraudulent, he opposed Chief Keokuk’s decision to move. In June 1831, Black Hawk led over 1,000 Sauk, Fox & Kickapoo families east of the river. His band easily defeated the IL Militia at the Battle of Stillman’s Run in May of 1832.  However, expected aid from the British and other tribes did not materialize. In August, at Bad Axe River, Natives trying to recross the Mississippi were slaughtered. Black Hawk soon surrendered. In April 1833, after a brief imprisonment at Fort Monroe, Virginia, he was transferred to Fort Armstrong, Rock Island, where he told his life story. In October 1833, he was released to Chief Keokuk. Black Hawk died at his home on the Des Moines River in Iowa.

Sources:
  James Lewis, “Black Hawk,” Britannica.  Retrieved 3/23/2022, Black Hawk | Life & War | Britannica
“Black Hawk,” 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 3/23/2022, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Black Hawk - Wikisource, the free online library
Painting:  George Catlin (1796-1872), 1832. Public Domain.  Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Item No. 3925, Accession No. 1985.66.2. Múk-a-tah-mish-o-káh-kaik, Black Hawk, Prominent Sac Chief | Smithsonian American Art Museum (si.edu)