Warrior (steamboat) facts for kids
Warrior at the Battle of Bad Axe
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Quick facts for kids History |
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.svg){kind=small} United States |
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| Builder | Joseph Throckmorton |
| Laid down | 1832 |
| Launched | 1832 |
| In service | mid-summer 1832 |
| Homeport | St. Louis |
| General characteristics | |
| Length | 111 feet (33.8 m) |
| Boats & landing craft carried |
passenger barge |
| Complement | 3 crew; 23 soldiers: (2 officers, 15 federal Army troops and 6 volunteer militia) |
| Armament | 6 pound cannon |
The Warrior was a steamboat built in 1832. It was owned by a man named Joseph Throckmorton, who was also its captain. The U.S. government used the Warrior during the Black Hawk War. It helped with military actions. The steamboat was built in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After it was finished, it traveled to St. Louis. Then it went into the area where the war was happening. The Warrior played a very important part in the Battle of Bad Axe. After the war, Captain Throckmorton kept using the steamboat on the Upper Mississippi River.
Contents
Building the Warrior
The steamboat Warrior was built and owned by private citizens. It was 111 feet (33.8 meters) long. Joseph Throckmorton built the boat. He owned it with William Hempstead, who lived in Galena, Illinois. The Warrior was launched in Pittsburgh in the summer of 1832. Captain Throckmorton was in charge.
The Warrior was a side-wheeled steamboat. It did not have cabins for passengers. Instead, it pulled a barge behind it for people to ride in. Captain Throckmorton brought his new boat to St. Louis. By mid-summer 1832, he headed towards the war zone.
The Black Hawk War
Why the War Started
In 1804, a treaty was made between the governor of Indiana Territory and some Sauk and Fox leaders. This treaty was about land. Because of it, the tribes left their lands in Illinois. They moved west of the Mississippi River in 1828.
However, Black Hawk, a Sauk chief, did not agree with the treaty. He and others said that the full tribal councils were not asked. They also said the leaders who signed the treaty did not have permission to give away the land. Black Hawk was angry about losing his birthplace. From 1830 to 1831, he led his group across the Mississippi River into Illinois several times. Each time, he was convinced to go back west without fighting.
In April 1832, Black Hawk tried again. He was encouraged by promises of help from other tribes and the British. He moved his group, called the "British Band," into Illinois. There were about 1,000 warriors and other people. But he found no allies. He tried to go back across the Mississippi River to what is now Iowa. But the Illinois Militia acted without orders. This led to the Battle of Stillman's Run. More fights followed. The militia from Michigan Territory and Illinois were called to find Black Hawk's band. This conflict became known as the Black Hawk War.
The Warrior was one of several steamboats used by the U.S. government. They needed boats for military forces during the 1832 Black Hawk War. The Warrior was mostly used to carry soldiers. But it played a very important part in the war's last battle. Other steamboats used in the war included the Chieftain and the Enterprise.
The Battle of Bad Axe
A few days before the big Battle of Bad Axe, the Warrior was rented by a United States Army major. This happened at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The goal was to deliver a message to the Sioux tribe. Lieutenant James W. Kingsbury and Lieutenant Reuben Holmes were ordered to take 15 U.S. Army troops and six volunteer militia members on the boat. They were to head north to the village of Sioux chief Wabasha.
The men loaded a six-pound cannon and ammunition onto the steamboat. They set out to tell Wabasha that the Sauk and Fox were running from the U.S. forces. This meeting was an attempt to get Wabasha's warriors to join them on the west side of the Mississippi River.
On August 1, while returning from this mission, the Warrior found Black Hawk's British Band. They were trying to cross the Mississippi River to escape the soldiers chasing them. Black Hawk waved a white flag, trying to surrender. But like before, the soldiers did not understand. The situation turned into a battle. The warriors who survived the first shots found cover. They fired back, and a two-hour gunfight happened. The Warrior eventually left the battle because it ran out of fuel. It went back to Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien.
Black Hawk and the other leaders of the British Band escaped during the night. On August 2, militia and federal troops attacked the rest of the group. This happened at the mouth of the Bad Axe River. The Warrior came back after getting more wood in Prairie du Chien. It left the refueling point around midnight. It arrived at Bad Axe about 10 a.m. The battle had already started when the steamboat arrived. It joined in a terrible fight that lasted for the next eight hours. After the battle, the Warrior carried Henry Atkinson and his staff to Fort Crawford. There, they met with Zachary Taylor, and later General Winfield Scott.
Later Service
After Chief Black Hawk was defeated, Captain Throckmorton kept using the Warrior. It operated on the Upper Mississippi River for several years. Records show that on June 24, 1835, the steamboat Warrior arrived at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. It carried supplies and a group of tourists. The boat's crew still included Captain Throckmorton. Also on board were clerk E.H. Gleim and pilot William White.
Some famous passengers on this trip were George Wallace Jones and Marie Pauline Gregorie. She was the wife of Felix St. Vrain, a U.S. Indian Agent who had been killed. The artist George Catlin was also a passenger. The Warrior arrived at Fort Snelling again on July 16. During the 1830s, the Warrior was one of about 12 boats. These boats carried large amounts of supplies, mostly food and clothing, to Fort Snelling.
Old newspapers in Galena, Illinois, also tell us about the Warrior's activities. This was in the few years after the Black Hawk War. In the fall of 1835, The Galena Advertiser reported that river travel was closed on November 7. It said that the Warrior and the steamboat Galena had left for Pittsburgh. River travel reopened after the winter in April 1836. The Advertiser stated that the Warrior was one of several boats that had left for St. Louis.
