Signed 3-volume set on the Black Hawk War by Crawford B. Thayer.
Crawford B. Thayer’s three-volume Black Hawk War: Eye‑Witness Series, a compilation of first‑hand accounts from participants on both sides of the 1832 conflict.
Volume 1: Hunting a Shadow: The Search for Black Hawk (1981)
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Chronicles the early movements of Black Hawk’s so‑called British Band as they re‑cross the Mississippi into Illinois in April–June 1832.
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Thayer organizes letters, diaries, and reports into a day‑by‑day (even hour‑by‑hour) chronology, tracking both Black Hawk’s group and the pursuing militia.
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The narrative is built solely from eyewitness testimony—Thayer edits and assembles overlapping quotes so readers effectively “hear from” multiple participants at once.
Volume 2: The Battle of Wisconsin Heights (1983)
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Focuses on the climactic engagement near present‑day Wisconsin Heights, early July 1832, where Colonel Henry Dodge’s militia decisively engaged Black Hawk’s force.
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As with volume one, the text presents accounts directly from benches of participants—militia leaders, scouts, and members of Black Hawk’s band.
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Offers detailed blow‑by‑blow descriptions of troop movements, tactics, terrain, and personal recollections.
Volume 3: Massacre at Bad Axe (1984)
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Covers the final engagement on August 1–2, 1832: U.S. forces attacking the remnants of Black Hawk’s group attempting to cross the Mississippi at Bad Axe.
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Thayer’s text compiles eyewitness correspondence, letters, and after‑action reports, giving a granular view of this tragic and bloody conclusion.
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Highlights the human cost, including a high proportion of non‑combatant deaths, making clear this was more massacre than pitched battle.
From a review:
Eyewitness Accounts Trace Black Hawk in Summer, 1832
The
late Crawford B. Thayer, Fort Atkinson native and Sauk War researcher
and enthusiast, diligently assembled eyewitness accounts of Black Hawk
and the movements of his "British Band" and his American pursuers
through the wilds of then-western Michigan Territory. His narrative, if
it can be called that, follows the words of the participants in a day by
day... in some cases hour by hour... story that encompasses several
weeks in Summer 1832.
Thayer's style includes both compilation of
eyewitness accounts and dissection of the same accounts, with
re-assembly in chronological order. The effect is to have numerous
quotes that frequently cover the same item or subject. Thayer defended
his technique by insisting that his methodology offered a richer accounting of events.
The overall effect, however is a
generally excellent compilation of accounts that trace the history of
the campaign as the "British Band" and Gen. Atkinsons' army meander
through present-day Wisconsin. I find Thayer's work second only to Ellen
Whitney's compilations. His use of footnotes and citation is meticulous
and exhaustive.
Thayer allowed the narrative to speak for itself...
so persons looking for insight or analysis will need to look elsewhere.
Also, Thayer assumes you have background history of the war, as he
starts his essay in June, or the middle of the war.
"Hunting a
Shadow" is the first book in Thayer's three-volume opus on the Sauk War,
which he completed before he died. The other volumes cover the Battle
of Wisconsin Heights and the Battle of the Bad Axe. Again... these works
are eyewitness compilations, not analytical histories of the events.