History, to turn the old saying around, is not written by the vanquished. No first person account exists from the participants of the “Last Indian Battle in Iowa.” What’s more, other places in Iowa dispute that the battle described here is the “last” battle between the First Peoples in Iowa. What is not in doubt is that we have a huge rock with a plaque commemorating this battle and that the authors of this entry cannot find a battle in Iowa between First Peoples that postdates this battle.
The Setting
The last battle in Iowa between Native American tribes took place near the west end of the Three Rivers Trail. A large boulder with a commemorative plaque marks the location.
The boulder itself is of historical interest. It is a glacial erratic, deposited by retreating glaciers. Glacial erratics are seen all over this part of Iowa.
The battle took place in 1853 or 1854. For context, Iowa became the 29th state in 1846. Settler accounts of this battle are an interesting glimpse into the white settlers’ mindset at the time, and may even contain the odd fact.
“This map shows the lands assigned to the Potawatomi, Sauk and Fox, and Winnebago peoples in Iowa a year prior to statehood in 1846. Map depicts territorial and county boundaries, Native American lands, several treaty lines devised at the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1830, an Indian agency and mission, and Anglo-American settlements.” Library of Congress.
As one may infer from the straight lines on the 1845 map, white settlement probably imposed a greater competition for resources and territory. Although this is not the stated reason for the battle, it may have, at the very least, been a factor.
The Combatants
Like people all over the world, Native American peoples called themselves “the people” in their own language. White settlers termed these combatants the Sioux and Winnebagos.
We have come to appreciate the distinction of all Sioux peoples into Dakota and Lakota. Dakota Sioux or Wahpekute Dakota lived in this part of Iowa. Dakota people ranged from northwestern Iowa to the southwestern half of Minnesota.
The Winnebago, who were the ancestor of the combatants, are now known as Ho-Chunk. The Ho-Chunks were pushed out of southwestern Wisconsin into a diagonal strip of land in Northeast Iowa term “the neutral ground.” It is shown in 1945 map above and labeled “Winnebago.” This area was bound on the west by the West Branch of the Des Moines River.
The Battle
All accounts of this battle seem to written at least a quarter century after the fact. Authors writing in the late nineteenth century impose the sensibilities of their time, not the least of which is unapologetic racism and sexism. The accounts are an interesting window into the prevailing mindset and contain tacit justifications manifest destiny.
Accounts agree that the Pilot Creek battle happened before the Spirit Lake Massacre in 1857. Many describe it as precursor to the Spirit Lake Massacre, but objectively the fight for territory between two first peoples, the best explanation for the last “Indian battle,” has little to do with the murder of a Native American’s family by a white settler, the immediate precursor to the Spirit Lake Massacre.
All accounts agree on the location of the battle, near the west end of the Three Rivers Trail, in the vicinity Pilot Creek. Remains of Native American dead and settler accounts seem to add credibility to the location of the battle.
Read accounts of the battle from settlers and reporters a couple of decades after the event.
