The conflict was fought between the Illinois and Michigan Territory militias and Sauk chief Black Hawk and his band of warriors, who were fleeing their homeland following the Fox Wars.

Knowledge of the history of native tribes before the middle of the 18th century in the area of Wisconsin Heights Battlefield is limited.

Samuel de Champlain is said to have heard of native tribes living "many leagues beyond Lake Huron" during the 17th century.

"[2] The Mascoutens, along with the Kickapoo and Miami were probably settled in the area around the Fox River and claimed much of the land to the south, including the battlefield, as their hunting grounds.

Despite being outnumbered and sustaining heavy casualties, Black Hawk's warriors managed to delay the combined forces long enough to allow the majority of the Sauk and Fox civilians in the group to escape across the Wisconsin River.

[5] On a cloudless Labor Day, September 3, 1923, 500 people gathered at the battlefield for the dedication of a marker at the site.

[4][8] Historians continued to shed light on the Battle of Wisconsin Heights and in 1992 a new interpretive marker was installed.

[4] Though the area around the battle site does not include modern amenities, such as plumbing and toilets, the trails within the Black Hawk Unit of the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway stretch three miles (5 km) over rugged terrain.

Archaeologists working with the Wisconsin DNR have looked for evidence of the battle by visual inspection, by metal detector, and by ground-penetrating radar.