On this day in 1788, Julien Dubuque, a French trapper from Quebec, was granted permission by a council of Sauk and Fox Indians of the area to work the lead mines. Using the Sauk and Fox as a labor force, Dubuque found the Upper Mississippi Valley to be rich in lead, which was used in the production of firearms. Dubuque had the most success in what is now the area of Dubuque, Iowa. [Source: Iowa History Project]
1816 - Philetus Sawyer Born
On this date, Philetus Sawyer, Wisconsin lumberman and politician, was born in Whiting, Vermont. Sawyer moved to Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin in 1847 and engaged in the lumber business. He was a member of the Wisconsin assembly in 1857 and 1861, and served as mayor of Oshkosh from 1863 to 1864. He served as a Republican in Congress from March 4, 1865 to March 3, 1875. He was later elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1881 and re-elected in 1887. Sawyer died in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on March 29, 1900. [Source: Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress]
1863 - (Civil War) Skirmishes in Tennessee
The 1st Wisconsin Cavalry participated in skirmishes at Missionary Ridge and Shallow Ford Gap in Tennessee.
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