Book brings alive ‘The Battle For Prairie du Chien’
Standing on the grounds of the Fort Crawford Museum in Prairie du Chien, local historian Mary Elise Antoine showcases her latest book, “The War of 1812 in Wisconsin: The Battle for Prairie du Chien.” (Photo by Correne Martin)
By Correne Martin
The stories of our country’s past can be quite complicated. Telling them in a way that brings history alive takes a careful approach and a proficient knowledge of the events as they occurred.
Local historian Mary Elise Antoine has written three books on Prairie du Chien: the first was “Images of Prairie du Chien” in 2011, then came “Legendary Locals” in 2015, and just released is “The War of 1812 in Wisconsin: The Battle for Prairie du Chien.”
“The War of 1812 in Wisconsin” is a story that Antoine said “really hasn’t been told before now.” It’s one she started a long time ago when she worked at the Villa Louis as part of a research report she wrote on the battle for Prairie du Chien. In 2012, she revisited that report and decided to write on either side of the battle, from about 1780 through about 1816.
“It’s all very much based upon the original documents pulled from William Clark’s personal papers, which are at the Kansas Historical Society, and the territorial papers, which are all U.S.-based,” explained Antoine, who is the Prairie du Chien Historical Society president and former curator of the Villa Louis.
She said she also referenced the Prairie du Chien paper and the Dickson law paper, both among the Wisconsin Historical Society Collections, as well as documents from the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections. “A lot of those were Canadian and British papers,” she added. “So it’s really both sides (of the battle).”
“This book tells the story but uses sources to tell it. But it flows like a story,” she shared.
Antoine went on to summarize the main happenings within her book.
“It starts about the time of the American Revolution. There’s this feeling about who is going to control Prairie du Chien. The British controlled it before the American Revolution, and afterward, it was U.S. territory,” she said. “Because the U.S. is basically incapable of controlling Prairie du Chien, the British soldiers say ‘OK, we’ll take it.’”
Then, there’s the three-day siege in July of 1814 for which the Battle of Prairie du Chien is named.
“So it’s really under British economic control and U.S. political control, to be honest, and it stays British until 1815,” she stated.
When Antoine chose to pen this book, she knew the Wisconsin Historical Society was her first stop for publication. “They like things about Wisconsin history, particularly history up to the 21st century,” she pointed out.
So she wrote an outline of what she wanted to include, broke it into chapters and sent a couple early chapters to the historical society to see if it would be interested. Sure enough, her idea was selected for publication. She was then assigned an editor, who helped Antoine rewrite areas where she repeated herself and included information that was not necessary to the story. She also pinpointed areas where additional information was needed.
Overall, working with the Wisconsin Historical Society was a pleasant experience for Antoine. She feels proud of the finished product, and she wants people to know the story and enjoy it.
“I’d like people to appreciate any event of the past,” she commented. “It’s a very complicated story. I hope readers will not take their own judgements of today and impose them on people back then because society was so much different than it is now.”
Interested locals who wish to obtain a copy of her new book may purchase it at the Fort Crawford Museum, the Villa Louis and Paper Moon. She’s had a couple book signings in Prairie du Chien and plans others in Madison, Portage and Green Bay.
