An Early Attack On Fort Madison

George Catlin painted this picture of a Sauk & Fox war dance in the early 1830s

 

The following passage has been reprinted from “Old Fort Madison: Some Source Materials” by Jacob Van der Zee, published in the Iowa Journal of History and Politics. October 1913. P. 520-525. It is part of a journal entry from a soldier or trader stationed at Fort Madison in 1808 and 1809.

 

[The Indians] kept in a body and counseled among themselves, the best manner of surprising Fort Madison, or rather the temporary stockade before the new fort could be occupied. They knew the new fort could not be occupied before the following summer; the soldiers hauled all the pickets and timber in the winner, hitched to sleds, 10 or 15 men to a sled, for want of horses or oxen.

 

Whilst they were occupied, the Indians were debating on the best mode of attack, several head, men and warriors spoke in council, each submitting his favorite mode of attack. They kept themselves posted up in regard to the progress of the new fort, which was to be of picket work and blockhouses. The pickets were to be about 15 feet high and sharpened at the top. The month of May was decided upon as the time for attacking the troops and kill every man if they could.

The whole nation left their summer village in the fall, and in canoes with their families, descended the Mississippi River some 250 miles to their usual wintering grounds, at or near Wa-con-daw Prairie, about 50 miles below Fort Madison, our game was much more plenty. Whilst the young men were employed in hunting, the wise men of the nation were submitting their plans for an attack, as they should pass up the river in the spring to their summer village, where they usually make their corn. Sometime in February, a young Iowa made his Detroit friend, the sutler, a visit, the object of which was to inform him that the old Sack chiefs had no control of the young men; that they were occupied all winter, and holding councils among themselves and were determined on mischief; that they had sent wampum to the Iowa, who would not join them in a body, but that a few individuals who had intermarried with the Sack women would and that a general massacre of the whites was determined upon to be carried in effect in the spring.

 

Black Hawk

Black Hawk, or Muck-et-e-me-shuck, was selected as the leader of the Warriors. Pash-e-pi-ho, or Stabbing Chief, was to be second in command. To settle on the mode of attack was then to be determined on. Several plans were proposed in general council. The Plumb chief proposed to make the attack when the troops were engaged in raising block houses for the new fort, when soldiers would be scattered; some hauling timber for pickets, and others chopping and getting out timber for the block, houses and barracks, leaving only six men on guard. Had the Plumb chief’s plan been adopted, and all their plans kept a secret, the Garrison must have fallen and the factory goods lost to the United States.

 

Pash-e-pi-ho proposed to fire the barracks or soldier’s quarters at night, scale the stockade and put everyone to death.

 

Black Hawk’s plan prevailed; the attempt was made, and he was disappointed.

 

[The attempt came in May 1809.] About 9 o’clock the Indians came in sight on the opposite side of the river and encamped. Soon a canoe put off with a message to the trader to be ready to receive his credits, after which they would trade; that they were anxious to reach their summer homes to plant their corn. Band after band paid up their credits and traded, the chief of each band sitting on the counter, hurrying them on. About 3 o’clock, the trading was over.

 

Pash-e-pi-ho, in person, asked to be admitted within the stockade, accompanied by an interpreter. He told Lieutenant Kingsley that his young men had paid all their credits and wished to give him a dance inside the stockade, as it was stumpy outside and would hurt his young men’s feet. The commanding officer gave him to understand that his request could not be complied with, and said if they wished to dance that they would could go over to their trader, Mr. Johnson, and see them dance. The dancing party soon became uneasy and struck up on the drum, getting in as compact body as they possibly could, and soon moved around to the front gate. There was a sentinel posted and was compelled to come to a charge with his bayonet. The commanding officer, who stood near a six-pounder and a soldier with a lighted port fire, was all that was exposed to view. Beside the interpreter stood Pash-e-pi-ho, urging the commanding officer to permit the Indians to enter the stockade. The chief had his knife in his hand, carelessly cutting tobacco as I jumped from my store over the picket work.

 

The officer, instead of detailing his men for fatigue or suffering them to be scattered about as usual at their work, ordered them under arms. The soldiers’ quarters formed the rear of the stockade of about one acre of the ground. The six-pounder stood within twenty feet of the barracks, directly fronting the gate, loaded with balls. Near the cannon stood a man with port fire in hand, waiting for orders. I looked towards the barracks; bayonets bristled through the doors and windows. Black Hawk was in front; about ten Indians filled up the gateway; those in front from the pressure of those in the rear, anxious to gain admittance within, were bent forward; the sentinel at the gate stood at a charge with his bayonet. The Indians, directly in his front leaning with his nose, nearly touching the sentinel’s musket. In a moment, I expected the affray would commence.

 

The guard was doubled at the guardhouse. Within three feet of the sentinel, waiting the discharge of the six-pounder, the man at the gun swung around the port fire, expecting every moment orders to apply the match. 

 

Pash-e-pi-ho

When Pash-e-pi-ho waved his hand as a signal for a retreat, the Indians came to the right about on their steps, and as they did, so, every man raised his war club in the air with a tremendous war whoop, disappointed, and mad that their plans were discovered. Pash-e-pi-ho was suffered to depart with his men, not, however, without a warning from the commanding officer who told him he had been watched in all his councils during the winter, and in pity towards them, they were suffered to go unharmed—the first fire. From the compact manner in which they came up, the cannon must have killed half of them at the first discharge. 

 

The men in the barracks were to have charged to gate. In an instant, twelve men in the guardhouse would have supported the sentinel whilst they reloaded the cannon. All the talking was through an officer through an interpreter. Pash was told the moment in Indian stepped over the gate Cell he would be fired, hon. Every man stood ready, but it was understood that they forced the sentinel at the gate, it would be the signal to fire the Cannon first, but in 20 minutes, not an Indian was to be seen on the west side of the river. 

 

As the Indians left the factory store, the squaws took up their line for the canoes to be out of danger. So certain were they of success that the woman brought with them their pack ropes to tie up the factory goods. Once in the stockade, they had confidently expected the troops would have gathered around them as they danced, and they were, at a signal from Pash-e-pi-ho to have used the war club and knife. The knife which he had in his hand, cutting tobacco with, he intended for the commanding officer, Lieutenant Kingsley. This chief was one of the most successful warriors in the nation, had killed in battle with his own hand fifteen of their enemies. He had carefully preserved their scalps until his death, which occurred a short time since n crossing a river when drunk. He fell out of his canoe and was drowned. The night of the failure, fifty canoes, with Black Hawk, left our camp on a war party against the hostages, 300 miles off.

 

The next day is the old chief Quashquame-nom-wait, the Plumb chief, Pacon-Napope, came over with a white flag and informed Lieut. Kingsley, that all the bad young men and young chiefs had gone to war; that they, the old chiefs could not control these bad men, that they thanked the Great Spirit that the smoke had disappeared & that the sun shone once more & acknowledged that the Black Hawk had great influence over the braves & that they were urged on by bad white men. 

 

After the council ended, the six pounder was taken out on the bank of the Mississippi and discharged. The river was calm and balls had a charming effect on water. Perhaps it might have been the first opportunity that they ever had to see a cannon fired with six-pounds of leaden bullets in it.

 

They put their hands to their mouth with an exclamation that the shot would have killed half of them. Had the Indians taken any other mode of attack they must have succeeded. Had they waited until night they could easily have set fire to the barracks, and that would have left nothing to prevent them from getting in. They had no blockhouses. The new fort was unfinished; the block houses only half up and the picket work only just begun and one month after the company of men would have defied all the Indians in the country.