Wisconsin soldiers who served in the Winnebago War (1827)

Wrongly informed that the U.S. had executed two of their warriors, a party of Ho-Chunk from LaCrosse attacked settlers near Prairie du Chien in the last week of June, 1827. They killed two men and assaulted a child before returning to their village. On June 30th, a keelboat passing that village was attacked because the Ho-Chunk believed it was the same one whose crew had recently abducted and raped several Indian women. In response, the U.S. Army moved troops up from St. Louis, local militia units were hastily formed, and a total of ca. 600 soldiers assembled at Prairie du Chien. Another 100 militia were gathered at Green Bay, where 125 Menominee, Stockbridge, and Oneida warriors joined to support them. In late August these two forces converged on the assembled Ho-Chunk near Portage. On Sept. 2, 1827, Ho-Chunk tribal leaders surrendered the warrior Red Bird and five others, and further bloodshed was avoided.

The four rosters linked below include the names of Wisconsin residents who served in Prairie du Chien and Green Bay militia units. Not included here are the professional soldiers in the U.S. Army and an Illinois regiment raised under the command of Henry Dodge that likely included some lead miners from present-day Wisconsin. The original muster rolls from which these typed versions were made are in the records of the Adjutant General's Office (Record Group 94) at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The originals have not been microfilmed, and they are published here for the first time. These transcriptions were made by Wisconsin Historical Society genealogical librarian James L. Hansen, and contain all the limited information the original manuscript rolls provide. They may be browsed in the left-hand frame of the viewer, and individual names may be searched in the box directly above it.