If it can be said that the worth of a man can be measured by how often he is remembered, and how he is remembered, then Black Hawk is indeed a great man in the history of this country.
There is a Black Hawk County in Iowa. The bridge between Iowa and Wisconsin is called the Black Hawk Bridge. Four US Navy Vessels were named USS Black Hawk. He was the inspiration for the Black Hawk helicopter. In World War I, there was a ‘Black Hawk’ division, whose name later inspired the name for the NHL Team, the Chicago Black Hawks. The Atlanta Hawks get their name from Black Hawk. There are Islands, rivers, streams, cities, schools, and parks named after Black Hawk. In Madison, Wisconsin, young girls eagerly join the Black Hawk Council of Girl Scouts. Ill-fitted though the word ‘War’ is when applied to the Black Hawk Conflict of 1832, it is one of the few ‘wars’ named after a person in American history, or anywhere in the world. There are banks, libraries, architects, businesses of all shape and size named after Black Hawk. At the Wisconsin River near the site of the Battle of Wisconsin Heights, it is possible to rent canoes from an outfitter named Black Hawk River Run. So many things are named after Black Hawk the warrior, it is hard to comprehend exactly how this reviled and defeated Indian became so loved and admired by the white race who so relentlessly tormented and pursued him. His name has been immortalized forever in the very self-image of our communities and society.
History, it seems,
will never forget the man, or the name,
even if it tries hard to forget the story.
(Key Terms: Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak, Black Sparrow Hawk, Black Hawk, 1767, Saukenuk, Pyesa, Rock Island, Black Hawk’s Watch Tower, Black Hawk State Historic Site, Hauberg Museum, Sauk, Sac, Meskwaki, Fox, Rock River, Sinnissippi River, Mississippi River, War of 1812, British Band, Great Britain, Treaty of 1804, Treaties, Ceded Land, William Henry Harrison, Quashquame, Keokuk, Fort Armstrong, Samuel Whiteside, Black Hawk War of 1832, Black Hawk Conflict, Scalp, Great Sauk Trail, Black Hawk Trail, Prophetstown, Wabokieshiek, White Cloud, The Winnebago Prophet, Ne-o-po-pe, Dixon’s Ferry, Isaiah Stillman, The Battle of Stillman’s Run, Old Man’s Creek, Sycamore Creek, Abraham Lincoln, Chief Shabbona, Felix St. Vrain, Lake Koshkonong, Fort Koshkonong, Fort Atkinson, Henry Atkinson, Andrew Jackson, Lewis Cass, Winfield Scott, Chief Black Wolf, Henry Dodge, James Henry, White Crow, Rock River Rapids, The Four Lakes, Battle of Wisconsin Heights, Benjamin Franklin Smith, Wisconsin River, Kickapoo River, Soldier’s Grove, Steamboat Warrior, Steamship Warrior, Fort Crawford, Battle of Bad Axe, Bad Axe Massacre, Joseph M. Street, Antoine LeClaire, Native American, Indian, Michigan Territory, Indiana Territory, Louisiana Territory, Osage, Souix, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Ottawa, Ho-Chunk)
He requested to be buried in a sitting up position as other Chiefs had been. He was wearing a military coat that Henry Clay had given him on his travel to Washington DC. In less than 3 months after his burial his grave was robbed and his bones were taken by a medical doctor from Illinois who had intentions of displaying them after assembly. The family of Blackhawk demanded the Territory Govenor of Iowa contact the Illinois Govenor to see if he could assist in retriving the bones and returning them to the Iowa territory govenor. After about a year of legal proceedings they were returned to a lawyer representing the Iowa territory Govenor Burlington. When the ruling city changed to Iowa City the lawyer moved them to Iowa City where they sat in a box for 12 years and finally his office burnt to the ground. They were never displayed nor returned to his family. Source is Alan Eckert's book "Twilight of Empire".
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