Check out a selection of sites below to trace the path of the Black Hawk War for yourself. For more detailed information, including full travel itineraries, pick up one of the listed guidebooks from the Fort's gift shop or your favorite bookseller.
A Black Hawk War Guide: Landmarks, Battlefields, Museums, & Firsthand Accounts
by Ben Strand
This guidebook, published in 2021, takes its followers on a complete adventure through the tri-state area (and as far as Washington D.C. for the enthusiastic travelers). Strand artfully combines history, images, and primary-source material along with location addresses and contact information.
In Black Hawk's Footsteps: A Trail Guide to Monuments, Museums, and Battlefields of the Black Hawk War of 1832
by Benjamin McLaughlin
Published in 2004, McLaughlin provides complete site descriptions that combine both historical accounts with modern site information. Detailed maps with turn-by-turn directions clearly guide readers to each stop. The entire guide also features images, biographical information, and direct quotes from war participants.
Along the Black Hawk Trail
by William F. Stark
An oldie but a goodie, this 1984 classic is densely packed with historical information and accounts of the Black Hawk War. Stark, with the help of photographer Don Davenport, recorded a number of monuments, signs, and scenery of dozens of Black Hawk War sites, many of which no longer remain. While town names are provided, no specific addresses or directions are provided.
Black Hawk State Historic Site is a 208-acre park and museum managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The site is adjacent to the original location of the principal Sauk village of Saukenuk, where Black Hawk was born and spent most of his life.
Visit them at blackhawkpark.org
Originally a popular summer retreat spot for the Sauk tribe, the U.S. Army took the island after the War of 1812. They built Fort Armstrong upon the island, which served as a major command post for the Black Hawk War.
Visit them at arsenalhistoricalsociety.org
Stillman's Run, also known as the Battle of Sycamore or Old Man's Creek, was the first battle of the Black Hawk War. On May 14, 1832, Black Hawk and 40 to 50 braves managed to scare 275 men of the Illinois militia into a retreat. The battle was named in honor of Major Isaiah Stillman, who commanded the Illinois militia. Today, Stillman's Deafeat Memorial Park features a memorial and headstones to those who died in the battle.
The address for the park is 225 Spruce St, Stillman Valley, IL 61084.
A group of Kickapoo warriors ambushed six dispatch riders near Buffalo Grove, killing William Durley. Though originally buried elsewhere, Durley was moved back to the site of the ambush in 1910. A historical marker is on S Galena Trail Road, between W Fulton Road and W Eagle Point Road, just outside of Polo, IL.
Natives and settlers alike took advantage of the chaos of war to settle old disputes. On May 21, a group of 40 to 80 Potawatomi attacked the Davis settlement along Indian Creek. The Potawatomi had a long-standing dispute with Davis, who had dammed the creek for his sawmill, ruining their ability to fish and navigate the creek. They massacred 23 civilians and kidnapped two sisters, Sylvia and Rachel Hall, whom they brought to Black Hawk. Eventually, Black Hawk ransomed the sisters for much needed supplies, and they were released at Fort Blue Mounds. Today, two monuments stand in Shabbona County Park to commemorate this attack and the sisters' capture.
See the park listing on the La Salle county website, or the address is 4165 E 16th Road, Earlville, IL 60518.
Fort Blue Mounds, a major supply center, was attacked twice during the war. First by Ho-Chunk and again by Sauk warriors. Like the Apple River Fort site, an excavation uncovered the original site of Fort Blue Mounds. Today, none of the original fort remains standing. There is a memorial plaque at the site, however it is private property and not generally accessible to the public.
There is another, larger memorial sign at the juncture of County Highway F and Division Street on the south side of Blue Mounds, WI, which is publically accessible.
On June 14, six men traveling from Fort Hamilton to Spafford Farm were ambushed by Kickapoo allied with Black Hawk's cause. This attack spurred the local militia into action, leading to the Battle of Horseshoe Bend two days later. Memorials to the four militiamen killed stand in Hoffman Cemetery, north of South Wayne, WI.
Though the cemetery is public, the main access is through private land. The address is 3650 Penny Rd, South Wayne, WI 53587.
Though short, this battle on June 16 resulted in a victory for the Illinois militia, restoring American confidence after their humiliating defeat at Stillman's Run. Today, the battle field is a county park and campground northwest of Woodford, WI. A marker, erected in 1922, commemorates the site's history.
Visit the Blackhawk Memorial Park listing on the Village of Argyle website, or the address is 2995 County Road Y, Argyle, WI, USA
Black Hawk attacked Kellogg's Grove twice during the war, first on June 15 and again on June 25. After the second attack, a young Abraham Lincoln helped to bury the dead. Today, Blackhawk Battlefield Park features a 34-foot monument and a small cemetery for the deceased, a statue of private Lincoln, as well as picnis areas, a shelter house, playground, etc.
See the park listing on Enjoy Illinois, or the address is 14109 W Blackhawk Rd, Pearl City, IL 61062.
On June 18, the Battle of Waddam's Grove was a musket turned knife fight between an estimated 12 Illinois militiamen and an unknown number of Sauk warrios. The casualties of this battle are interred with those at Kellogg's Grove, but a marker stands at a crossroads to mark the battle's location.
The marker is located at the cross roads of W Pin Hook Road and N Crossroads Road, east of the unincorporated community of Waddam's Grove.
The Battle of Wisconsin Heights, fought on July 21, was the penultimate battle of the Black Hawk War. Black Hawk and his braves held off American forces long enough for their civilians and wounded to escape across the Wisconsin River. The battlefield itself was vast, with the main confrontation located on top of a bluff within the 815-acre Blackhawk Unit of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway. A historical marker sits along Highway 78 on the north side of the park.
Visit the listing for the Black Hawk Unit on the Devil's Lake State Park website.
The Battle, or Massacre, of Bad Axe was the final, two-day altercation (August 1 & 2) of the Black Hawk War. Black Hawk and his people were trapped by the confluence of the Bad Axe and Mississippi Rivers to the north and west, and American forces from the east. Roughly one-third of Black Hawk's people died in this massacre, though Black Hawk himself survived. Today, a historical marker and park mark the main location of the battle, about five miles south of the present-day confluence of the two rivers.
The marker is along the Great River Road / WI-35, just south of Battle Hollow Road and south of Victory, WI.
Black Hawk remained on the run for nearly a month until a group of Ho-Chunk persuaded him to surrender. He surrendered himself to Indian Agent Joseph M. Street at Prairie du Chien, bringing the war to an official end. A historical marker stands at the Fort Crawford Museum.
Visit them at fortcrawfordmuseum.com
After the war's end, Black Hawk spent about 8 months as a prisoner of war at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, MO. During this time, the Sauk warrior dictated his memoirs to Antoine LeClaire, a French-Canadian and Potawatomi translator for the U.S. Army. The only Native American autobiography of its century, the book was an instant best seller and remains in-print to this day.
Visit the Jefferon Barracks page on the St. Louis County website.
Originally a settler's cabin turned blockhouse for the Black Hawk War, Sinsinawa Mound now houses the Sinsinawa Mound Center of Dominican Sisters. Underneath the main entrance to the facility is part of an old stone building, likely remnants of the once-attacked Black Hawk War fort.
Visit them at sinsinawa.org
Though not a site directly related to the Black Hawk War, Lorado Taft's The Eternal Indian is often nicknamed the Black Hawk Statue. Towering 150 feet (48 feet of which are the statue itself) over the Rock River, this statue stands as a sentinel of unconquered Native American spirit.
Visit the statue's page on the City of Oregon's website, or the address is 411 N River Rd, Oregon, IL 61061.
Built in 1832 for the Ho-Chunk Indian Agent John H. Kinzie and his wife Juliette, this historic house sits at the portage site between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. Today the site tells the history of the Ho-Chunk, the Kinzies, and the frontier life in Jacksonian America.
Visit them at agencyhouse.org
