Sheboygan, the site of a fierce Indian land war

Almost daily the news media feeds us a continuing story of the war taking place in the Far East. Every day we read sad stories of young men and a woman losing their lives in what seems to be a never-ending conflict.

It’s hard to imagine now that a war every bit as cruel and ferocious as the war facing our brave troops once took place on the land Sheboygan now stands on. This brief but bloody struggle was fought between warring Indian tribes over land and hunting rights. It’s impossible to be specific as to the date this war took place, other than to say it occurred many years before the major influx of white settlers into the region. The Indians had no written language nor did they keep any form of records. What we know of them comes from stories and legends passed down from generation to generation.

In the late 1700s or early 1800s as the white man’s settlements along the east coast began to grow, the Native American population was displaced and slowly driven westward. This displacement had a ripple effect. As the eastern tribes were driven ever westward, they in turn forced other tribes from their ancestral lands, causing war and unrest to break out among the various Indian nations over territorial and hunting rites.

In the territory that was to become Wisconsin, a dispute broke out between the Chippewas, Menominees and the Winnebago Indians over the rich hunting grounds between Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan. The Chippewa and Menominee nations formed an alliance in an attempt to drive the Winnebagoes out of their favorite hunting ground, the east shore of Lake Winnebago.

The combined Indian nations attacked the Winnebagoes and even though they had a larger force they soon found themselves driven back by the fierce Winnebagoes. When they gained the upper hand, the Winnebagoes did not relax, but kept attacking.

The Alliance forces began a rapid retreat to the east until at last they had been driven all the way to the shore of Lake Michigan at a site near the mouth of the Sheboygan River. With Lake Michigan at their back and the north bank of the Sheboygan River on their left, the beleaguered Indians found themselves trapped. Their only choices were to stand their ground and be slaughtered or jump into the Sheboygan River and swim across to the other side. They chose to swim.

Once on the south bank of the river, they began to retreat south. They came to a high bluff – which today would be the area of Lakeshore Drive and Swift Avenue – and ascended. Once on top of the bluff, they set up what they thought was a secure defensive area, but the determined Winnebagoes were not to be denied their victory.

The following night, during a heavy thunderstorm, the attacking tribe swam across the mouth of the Sheboygan River and waded in shallow water, going south of the defensive encampment. They came on land, in an area located near the present day Union Avenue. The Winnebagoes climbed the bluff and attacked their enemies from the rear.

The Chippewa chief held a council with the Menominees and it was decided to make a stand. Runners were sent out by the Alliance to the Sac and Fox Indians, asking for assistance in defeating their old enemies, the Winnebagoes. The Alliance tribes were able to hold back the Winnebagoes for a few more days.

Then late one night they abandoned their positions on the lakefront bluff and retreated west along a line near the present day Indiana Avenue. The attackers soon discovered the Alliance tribes were gone and set out in pursuit. A running battle ensued. The Alliance braves attempted to make a stand on top of a bluff that stood in an area of 14th and Indiana Avenue, but were pushed back. At last the Winnebagoes reached the top of another high bluff that today is bisected by Taylor Drive, a short distance south of Indiana Avenue. The desperate Alliance tribesmen began to build a crude rough wall of logs to hold off their attackers and wait for the help that they expected; however, the Sac and the Fox Indians never came.

Time after time the besieged Indians tried to break out and failed. After the standoff had lasted over two months, food ran out. The Alliance Indians were forced to slaughter their ponies and smoke the meat. When the meat supply was exhausted the trapped Alliance braves faced an enemy they knew they could not defeat … starvation! One by one the trapped braves gathered together their families and slipped away into the night until most of the survivors had escaped. The Alliance had suffered total defeat.

The Winnebagoes now reigned supreme over the hunting lands between the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan.

But the victorious tribe was unaware that soon they would face an adversary more formidable than any they had ever faced, an enemy that would drive them from their lands and completely destroy their way of life … the white man!

Today’s Snippet: The present site of the Wildwood Cemetery was at one time an Indian burial ground. Many years ago, on several occasions, as graves were being dug, gravediggers unearthed Indian remains.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for a future column, please feel free to contact me at (920) 458-2974 or e-mail wangemann@yahoo.com.

Every Tuesday at 7:20 a.m., these columns are reviewed on Radio Station 1420 “The breeze.”