Indian warfare in Illinois and Wisconsin The Black Hawk War of 1832 was typical of 19th century confrontations between the United States government and Native-American tribes in as much as it was violent, tragic and potentially avoidable. The tribal leader, Black Hawk of the Sauks, led the so called "English Band" of Sauks, Meskwakis and Kickapoos across the Mississippi River into Illinois, probably to peaceably resettle tribal lands which had been ceded to the United States government. The belief among Americans was that the Indians were hostile and an army, consisting primarily of poorly trained and undisciplined part-time militia because of the lack of regular troops in the area, was mobilised. During negotiations the militia pre-emptively opened fire on the Indians, this immediately flared into open hostility resulting in the Battle of Stillman"s Run and American defeat. Black Hawk, joined by disaffected members of the Potawatomi and Ho-Chunk tribes, then led a raiding...