Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1832) - Aftermath

Aftermath

The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, though of little military significance, was a major turning point in the war for the volunteer militia forces and many white settlers. This minor militia victory was the first step in the process of redeeming the militia's own morale and its standing in the eyes of the settlers on the frontier. Individual accounts claim that the battle at Horseshoe Bend "turn(ed) the tide of the war." It was also notable for the proportion of killed in action to the number of combatants. All eleven Kickapoo that Dodge had pursued into the swamp were killed and scalped by his troops, while the final militia casualties were confined to three dead and one wounded. About an hour after the battle, Colonel William S. Hamilton arrived with friendly Menominee, Sioux and Ho-Chunk warriors. According to Dodge, the friendly warriors were given some of the scalps his men had taken, with which they were "delighted". Dodge also reported that the Native Americans then proceeded on to the battlefield and mutilated the corpses of the fallen Kickapoo.

Of Dodge's casualties, Thomas Jenkins was only slightly wounded. However, the three Militia men who had been shot as they advanced towards the Kickapoo position all later died. Samuel Wells, Montaville Morris and Samuel Black were transported to Fort Hamilton; Morris died at the fort, as did Wells, with his head in a comrade's lap. When informed by the surgeon of his imminent death, Wells requested to speak with Dodge. Wells asked Dodge "if he had behaved like a soldier." Dodge responded, "Yes, Wells, like a brave one." Wells then said to the commander, "Send that word to my old father," and died a short time later. Samuel Black was moved to Fort Defiance, where he lingered for nine days before dying.

This was the first battle in which a volunteer force defeated the Native Americans. Dodge became the first of the militia leaders to prove his ability to stand up to the enemy. He quickly became the "rising star" of the conflict, having helped negotiate the release of the Hall sisters after the Indian Creek massacre and proved himself at Horseshoe Bend.

The battlefield at Horseshoe Bend is now a campground located within a county park in Lafayette County, Wisconsin. The Black Hawk Memorial Park is maintained by the Lafayette County Sportsmen Alliance, Yellowstone Flint and Cap club, and the Friends of Woodford Park. In 1922, a marker was erected by the Shullsburg chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the residents of Woodford to commemorate the Battle of Horseshoe Bend; it is still visible today. The battlefield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on July 28, 2011.