British Band - Prelude To War

Prelude To War

Despite opposition by Keokuk and the US authorities, Black Hawk's band returned to Saukenuk in 1830 following their winter hunt. A year later they returned again, and Illinois Governor John Reynolds proclaimed it an "invasion of the state."

Responding to Illinois Governor John Reynolds' call, General Edmund Pendleton Gaines brought his federal troops from St. Louis, Missouri to Saukenuk to insist on Black Hawk's immediate departure. Black Hawk left but soon returned to the west side of the Mississippi, threatened by Gaines' troops and an additional 1,400 militia called up by Reynolds on 25 June 1831. On 30 June, Black Hawk and the chiefs of the British Band were forced to sign a surrender agreement in which they promised to remain west of the Mississippi.

At the end of 1831, stories spread throughout the settlements of the Upper Mississippi River Valley that the British planned to aid Black Hawk in the event of a war with the white settlers. According to U.S. Indian Agent Felix St. Vrain, a known ne'er-do-well named Billy Caldwell had delivered a message to the Sauk which reported the alleged British intentions. The New Galenian of Galena reported that Black Hawk's band would receive aid and ammunition from the British, and the tale was widely believed. The militia commander at Fort Armstrong, Major John Bliss, informed General Henry Atkinson of the rumor, and said a follower of Keokuk had reported to him that Black Hawk and Neapope were holding talks with bands of Potawatomi, Kickapoo, and Ho-Chunk. The talks mentioned the promises of the British, as well as word that the French Canadians intended to assist them. These events, combined with Black Hawk's 1812 alliance with the British, and occasional visits to Canada, attributed to his 1832 band becoming known by the moniker British Band. The term British Band was used frequently by American, Sauk, and Fox observers alike and served to distinguish Black Hawk's group from the rest of the tribes.