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Vernon County WI

• 05.14.08
  Wisconsin highway 35
  Black Hawk war zone tour - 2004, Vernon County WI (0)

  September 9, 2004, continued. This is state highway 35, maybe 3 miles north of DeSoto, Wisconsin (on the upper left of the map below). I would have taken highway 35 south to Prairie du Chien, but I think I was scared off by some of the discussions about highway 35 that had taken place on the Phred bicycle touring e-mail list. What I saw of the road was great for riding, but I had gotten the idea that there might be sections with no paved shoulders and lots of traffic. I decided to take a more "inland" route, instead ...
  
  
• 05.13.08
  The Warrior
  Black Hawk war zone tour - 2004, Vernon County WI (0)

  Sept 9, 2004, continued. By the time I got back to the campground at Blackhawk Park, the fog was gone entirely. Now I was able to get some clear shots of the river. This one is looking north. Black Hawk's people were trapped on the bank on the right, in between the steamboat "Warrior" which had been patrolling the river, looking for them, and the army and militia forces coming down the bluffs at them. Here is how one of the eyewitnesses described it: The troops and [Menomonie] Indians on board the Warrior, kept up a brisk fire on the Indians ...
  
  
• 05.12.08
  The last of Battle Hollow Road
  Black Hawk war zone tour - 2004, Vernon County WI (0)

  One last post from Battle Hollow Road. I promise. This scene may be at the end of the little side road shown in the previous post, facing north. I'm not absolutely sure, but it looks about right. Bicycling is a great way to memorize the terrain. One carries away a lot of memories when you get to know places up close and personal. But 3.5 years later, my memory is not quite complete for every last photo. I'm not absolutely sure. The timestamps on my photos make it very plausible, though. If so, this would be ...
  
  
• 05.11.08
  Fog on Battle Hollow Road
  Black Hawk war zone tour - 2004, Vernon County WI (1)

  September 9, 2004, continued. It took me a long time to ride the two miles back down Battle Hollow road, because I made a lot of photo stops. It was still a foggy morning. On August 2, 1832, the soldiers were roused and on the march before sunrise. They knew they were getting close to the Mississippi River, because of the fog over the river (according to eyewitness account quoted in Thayer, "Massacre at Bad Axe"). This is a little side road off on the north side of Battle Hollow Road. It drops down to the creek (in the ...
  
  
• 05.10.08
  Battle Hollow
  Black Hawk war zone tour - 2004, Vernon County WI (0)

  September 9, 2004, continued. After two miles of gravel, I came to the end of Battle Hollow Road. I met only one car, apparently some high school kids on their way to school. At the end there were a couple of residences. I took this photo facing northwest. According to one diary, this hollow was the route taken to the river by a large number of Black Hawk's people, and was also the route taken by the left wing of the forces under Gen. Atkinson: Our order of battle was promptly arranged under the personal supervision of Gen. ...
  
  

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