Battle of Bad Axe

Overview

The Bad Axe Massacre was a massacre of Sauk (Sac) and Meskwaki (Fox) people by United States Army regulars and militia that occurred on August 1–2, 1832. This final scene of the Black Hawk War took place near present-day Victory, Wisconsin, in the United States. It marked the end of the war between white settlers and militia in Illinois and Michigan Territory, and the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes under warrior Black Hawk.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The engagement at Bad Axe on August 1–2, 1832, near present-day Victory, Wisconsin, was the concluding action of the Black Hawk War. A United States force of approximately 1,300 regulars and militia, under commanders including Henry Atkinson, Henry Dodge, and James D. Henry, overtook Sauk and Meskwaki people attempting to cross the Mississippi. Sauk casualties numbered around 300. The battle effectively ended armed resistance by the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes under Black Hawk in Illinois and Michigan Territory, closing a conflict between those nations and white settlers and militia that had defined the summer of 1832. Its outcome consolidated U.S. authority over the region and terminated Sauk and Meskwaki capacity to contest further displacement.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (7)