Warrior (steamboat)

Warrior at the Battle of Bad Axe
History
United States
Builder:	Joseph Throckmorton
Laid down:	1832
Launched:	1832
In service:	mid-summer 1832
Homeport:	St. Louis
General characteristics
Length:	111 feet (33.8 m)
Boats & landing craft carried:	passenger barge
Complement:	3 crew; 23 soldiers: (2 officers, 15 federal Army troops and 6 volunteer militia)
Armament:	6 pound cannon

Warrior was a privately owned and constructed steamboat that was pressed into service by the U.S. government during the Black Hawk War to assist with military operations. Warrior was constructed and launched in 1832 at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by Joseph Throckmorton who also served as the vessel's captain. Once constructed the vessel traveled to St. Louis and into the war zone. Warrior played a key role in the decisive Battle of Bad Axe. Following the war the steamboat continued its service under Throckmorton along the Upper Mississippi River.

The steamboat Warrior was both privately built and owned. The 111-foot (33.8 m) boat was built by Joseph Throckmorton, who also owned the vessel in a partnership with Galena, Illinois resident William Hempstead. It was launched in Pittsburgh during the summer of 1832 with Captain Throckmorton at the helm. The side wheeled vessel had no cabin or accommodations for passengers but towed behind it a barge meant for passengers. Throckmorton brought the new boat and its barge to St. Louis and then set out for the war zone by mid-summer 1832.

As a consequence of an 1804 treaty between the governor of Indiana Territory and a group of Sauk and Fox leaders regarding land settlement, the tribes vacated their lands in Illinois and moved west of the Mississippi in 1828. However, Sauk Chief Black Hawk and others disputed the treaty, claiming that the full tribal councils had not been consulted, nor did those representing the tribes have authorization to cede lands. Angered by the loss of his birthplace, between 1830–31 Black Hawk led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River into Illinois, but was persuaded each time to return west without bloodshed. In April 1832, encouraged by promises of alliance with other tribes and the British, he again moved his so-called "British Band" of around 1,000 warriors and non-combatants into Illinois. Finding no allies, he attempted to return across the Mississippi (to present-day Iowa), but the undisciplined Illinois Militia's actions led to the Battle of Stillman's Run. A number of other engagements followed, and the militia of Michigan Territory and the state of Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk's band. The conflict became known as the Black Hawk War.