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Battle of Pecatonica
On the 14th of June, a mall
scouting party of Sacs killed five men at
the Spafford farm, and on reception of the
news next day, Gen. Atkinson ordered Col.
Henry Dodge to take command of Posey's
brigade, then stationed near Fort Hamilton,
and while on his way from Fort Union, where
his regiment was in camp, to visit the
brigade, he heard the sharp crack of a
rifle, and instantly looking in the
direction of the sound, saw a man fall from
his horse, who had been shot by Indians
nearby. Instead of going forward as he set
out to do, he hastily returned to his
command, mustered a portion of his cavalry
and went in pursuit of the Indians, and soon
got on the trail of twenty-five warriors,
who had commenced their retreat soon after
shooting, and espying him, hastened back to
the front. The Indians crossed and recrossed
the Pecatonica river several times, being
closely pushed by Col. Dodge and his men,
and finding escape hopeless, made a stand.
The colonel immediately dismounted his men
and picked his way cautiously, with the
intention of firing and then charging upon
them. But the Indians, being on the lookout,
watched their opportunity and got the first
fire, by which a brave soldier named Apple
was killed, and another by the name of
Jenkins was wounded. The fight continued
vigorously until the last Indian was killed,
several of them having been shot while
trying to escape by swimming. At the
commencement of the fight, the forces on
each side were nearly equal, but the
Indians, in swimming the river, had got
their powder wet, and although they made
desperate efforts to close in on our men
with knives, they were shot down in their
endeavors.
Col. Dodge, in speaking of this engagement,
at Galena, after the close of the war, said
he was amazed at the desperation displayed
by a big, burly brave, who came towards him
with gun at his shoulder and halted quickly
when only a few paces from him, drew the
trigger, and was sorely disappointed in his
gun not going off. Quick as thought the
colonel brought his rifle in position,
pulled the trigger, but, owing to the
dampness of the powder, it failed to go off.
In the meantime the brave was coming towards
him, knife in hand and desperation in his
eye, and when only a few feet from him the
colonel shot him down with his revolver. At
the same time one of his brave boys, by the
name of Beach, was engaged in a desperate
encounter with the last remaining savage, in
which both used knives; the Indian was
killed and Beach very badly wounded.
Thus ended one of the most sanguinary
engagements of the war. The books presented are for
their historical value only and are not the
opinions of the Webmasters of the site.
Autobiography of Black
Hawk or Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak,
Copyrighted By J. B. Patterson, 1882
Black Hawk Indian WarFree
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