Character guide

Black Hawk

major

Also known as General Black Hawk, Black Hawk Starts, The Black Hawk, the renowned Black Hawk, Hawk

Born at the Sac village on Rock River in 1767, he rises to lead a band whose land is claimed by the United States under a treaty four tribal members allegedly signed without the nation's consent. Proud, eloquent, and unbowed even in defeat, he dictates his story so the world will hear the injuries his people suffered rather than only the government's version. His refusal to accept dispossession drives the resistance that shapes the book's central conflict.

Keokuk

supporting

Also known as the celebrated Keokuk

A polished orator welcomed in American councils, Keokuk receives a splendid sword and pistols from the governor while Black Hawk looks on from the crowd. His strategy of peace and cooperation places him in quiet opposition to the older war chief's determination to hold the Rock River country. Their rivalry over how the Sauk should survive white expansion runs beneath the autobiography's account of councils, treaties, and broken promises.

Gomo

supporting

Within the tight circle of chiefs and warriors who followed Black Hawk across the Mississippi and back, Gomo belongs to the trusted few whose counsel and presence steadied the band. His loyalty places him at the center of the war's hardships, from council debates to the strain of retreat. He matters because the story of the resistance is also the story of the men who chose to remain with Black Hawk when others chose accommodation.

Nanamakee

supporting

According to the tradition Black Hawk received from his father, Pyesa, Nanamakee, or Thunder, was born near Montreal, where the Great Spirit inspired him to believe that after four years he would meet a white man who would be to him a father. He blacked his face and fasted in preparation for that meeting, an act of faith that opens the autobiography's account of how the Sauk first encountered Europeans. His story gives Black Hawk's narrative its deep roots, tying present struggles to ancestral prophecy and the long memory of the nation.

Neapope

supporting

Neapope urged Black Hawk to recross the river and raise corn with the Potawatomi and Winnebago, a decision that turned a hungry band's planting into a war. In battle he proved not only brave and fearless but well skilled in strategy, holding a position with about two hundred warriors so Black Hawk and the rest could cross to safety. His counsel and courage make him one of the resistance's most consequential figures in the book's middle chapters.

Matatah

minor

Sauk woman and relative of Black Hawk, captured during the war.

Quashquame

minor

Sauk chief who signed away tribal lands, criticized by Black Hawk.

Tama

minor

Sauk chief who remains neutral during the conflict.

Old Wacome

minor

Also known as Wacome

Sauk elder and advisor to Black Hawk.

General Henry Atkinson

supporting

Also known as Gen. Atkinson, Brig. Gen. Atkinson, Brigadier General H. Atkinson, General Atkinson, H. Atkinson, Atkinson, Brig.-General Atkinson

Atkinson sends express orders for Black Hawk to return peaceably across the Mississippi and, when refused, threatens force, becoming the military face of American expansion in the campaign. He builds forts, coordinates militia and regulars, and presses the pursuit through difficult country. His persistent advance turns Black Hawk's attempt to raise a crop into a running fight, and his decisions shape the arc from first summons to final confrontation.

General Winfield Scott

supporting

Also known as Gen. Scott, Gen. Winfield Scott, Scott

Scott belongs to the victorious American side that Black Hawk addresses with bitter dignity in his 1833 farewell, wishing his conqueror never taste the humility the government forced on him. As the officer who arrives to settle terms after the fighting, he embodies the military and diplomatic power that turned a disputed treaty into dispossession. His presence in the narrative marks the moment the war's outcome hardens into a peace dictated by the stronger party, giving Black Hawk's account its reckoning with defeat.

Colonel Dixon

minor

Also known as Dixon

U.S. militia officer who fights at Stillman's Run.

Major Isaiah Stillman

minor

Also known as Stillman, Major Stillman

U.S. militia commander defeated by Black Hawk at Stillman's Run.

Colonel George Davenport

minor

Also known as Col. Davenport, Col. George Davenport, George Davenport, Colonel George Davenport, Colonel Davenport

U.S. Army officer and trader at Fort Armstrong.

General Henry Dodge

minor

Also known as Henry Dodge, Col. Dodge, Col. Henry Dodge, Col. Henry, Gen. Dodge, Dodge, General Dodge

U.S. militia commander who pursues Black Hawk at Wisconsin Heights.

General Alexander Posey

minor

Also known as Gen. Alexander Posey, Gen. Posey, Gen. Alexander, Posey, Alexander, General Posey

U.S. militia general during the Black Hawk War.

Governor John Reynolds

minor

Also known as Gov. Reynolds, Governor Reynolds, Governor John Reynolds

Illinois governor who mobilizes militia against Black Hawk.

Colonel J. M. Strode

minor

Also known as Col. J. M. Strode, Col. Strode

U.S. officer at Fort Armstrong during the war.

Major John Dement

minor

Also known as Gen. James D. Henry, Major John Dement, John Dement, Major Dement, the Major, Dement, Henry, Gen. Henry

U.S. officer who leads a battle against the Sauks at Kellogg's Grove.

Captain A. W. Snyder

minor

Also known as Capt. A. W. Snyder, Capt. Snyder

U.S. militia captain during the Black Hawk War.

Captain James Stephenson

minor

Also known as Capt. Stephenson, Captain James Stephenson

U.S. officer who commands a company at Fort Dixon.

Colonel Taylor

minor

Also known as Colonel Taylor

U.S. officer involved in the war's final engagements.

General Ewing

minor

Also known as General Ewing, Ewing

U.S. militia general during the conflict.

General Samuel Whitesides

minor

Also known as Gen. Whitesides

U.S. militia general who leads troops at Stillman's Run.

Colonel Jones

minor

Also known as Col. Jones

U.S. militia officer during the war.

Colonel William Berry

minor

Also known as Col. Wm. Berry

U.S. officer commanding a regiment in the war.

Major P.

minor

Also known as Major P.

U.S. officer mentioned in dispatches during the war.

Elijah Kilbourn

minor

Also known as Mr. Elijah Kilbourn, Kilbourn, Elijah Kilbourn

Settler who provides a narrative of the Apple River Fort fight.

William Martin

minor

Also known as Mr. William Martin, Mr. Martin, William Martin, the said William Martin, Martin

Settler and witness to events during the war.

Joseph Smart

minor

Also known as Mr. Joseph Smart, Mr. Smart, Smart

Settler who testifies about the conflict.

Dr. A. K. Philleo

minor

Also known as Dr. A. K. Philleo, Dr. Philleo

Physician who treats wounded after the war.

J. B. Patterson

minor

Also known as J. B. Patterson

Editor and compiler of Black Hawk's autobiography.

Washeown

minor

Sauk warrior and ally of Black Hawk.

Thunder

minor

Also known as Little Thunder

Sauk warrior who fights alongside Black Hawk.

General Edmund Gaines

minor

Also known as General Gaines

U.S. general who negotiates with Black Hawk before the war.

Colonel Fry

minor

Also known as Col. Fry

U.S. officer at the Battle of Wisconsin Heights.

Captain James Craig

minor

Also known as Capt. James Craig

U.S. militia captain who serves in the conflict.

Mr. Gratiot

minor

Also known as Mr. Gratiot

Indian agent involved in treaty negotiations.

Gideon Munson

minor

Also known as Gideon Munson, Munson

Settler who provides an account of the war.

Kellogg

minor

Also known as Kellogg

Settler whose grove becomes a fort during the war.

Crooks

minor

Also known as Crooks

Trader or settler mentioned in the narrative.

La Gutrie

minor

Also known as La Gutrie

French-Canadian trader who interacts with the Sauks.