The Pecatonica Battlefield is within Blackhawk Memorial Park in the Town of Wiota, near the tiny village of Woodford.
It was here, on the eastern shore of Bloody Lake, where a small, but decisive, battle or skirmish took place that would change the nature of the Black Hawk War.
The Black Hawk War, an American-Indian conflict, took place in 1832 in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, areas that were becoming increasingly settled at the time.
The Sac and Fox Indians had been removed to Iowa, but, led by noted leader Black Hawk, this group decided to return to their ancestral village in Illinois. Finding their village settled by whites, Black Hawk and his band moved up the Rock River, chased by white militias and federal troops.
Early in the conflict, the American militia had difficulty finding Black Hawk and his band. One engagement in Illinois amounted to an embarrassing American rout. Meanwhile, small groups of Indians attacked white settlers, seemingly at will.
A group of militia led by Henry Dodge successfully followed a group of Native Americans to this area after they had attacked white settlers.
The natives were waiting in the water on the eastern bank of Bloody Lake and when they rose up against the militia, Henry Dodge led his men in defeating and killing all the Indians, with only a few militia casualties.
This small skirmish was seen as a major success against the Native Americans, and Henry Dodge was declared a hero.
It changed the attitude of whites toward the ability of the militia to successfully defeat the natives, and made Henry Dodge a notable figure in Wisconsin, eventually becoming Governor.
Notable as the first success of the war, it galvanizing the white settlers to continue the fight to move the Indians permanently across the Mississippi River.
Once that was completed, southern Wisconsin was open for vast settlement with no further impediments from Native Americans.
It was here, on the eastern shore of Bloody Lake, where a small, but decisive, battle or skirmish took place that would change the nature of the Black Hawk War.
The Black Hawk War, an American-Indian conflict, took place in 1832 in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, areas that were becoming increasingly settled at the time.
The Sac and Fox Indians had been removed to Iowa, but, led by noted leader Black Hawk, this group decided to return to their ancestral village in Illinois. Finding their village settled by whites, Black Hawk and his band moved up the Rock River, chased by white militias and federal troops.
Early in the conflict, the American militia had difficulty finding Black Hawk and his band. One engagement in Illinois amounted to an embarrassing American rout. Meanwhile, small groups of Indians attacked white settlers, seemingly at will.
A group of militia led by Henry Dodge successfully followed a group of Native Americans to this area after they had attacked white settlers.
The natives were waiting in the water on the eastern bank of Bloody Lake and when they rose up against the militia, Henry Dodge led his men in defeating and killing all the Indians, with only a few militia casualties.
This small skirmish was seen as a major success against the Native Americans, and Henry Dodge was declared a hero.
It changed the attitude of whites toward the ability of the militia to successfully defeat the natives, and made Henry Dodge a notable figure in Wisconsin, eventually becoming Governor.
Notable as the first success of the war, it galvanizing the white settlers to continue the fight to move the Indians permanently across the Mississippi River.
Once that was completed, southern Wisconsin was open for vast settlement with no further impediments from Native Americans.