America's 250th: Residents of “Wisconsin” in the American Revolution
Category: Event Calendar
Date and Time
- Wednesday, Jun 24, 2026 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Location
Brown County Library
515 Pine St
Details
In the 1770s, the majority of the permanent residents of what is now Wisconsin were the Native American nations. But the British had a great influence in the region because of the fur trade. Englishmen and French-speaking men traded at Green Bay and Prairie du Chien. Charles Langlade had permanently settled at Green Bay and been joined by Pierre Grignon. People from the Illinois Country and Montreal had begun to select land at Prairie du Chien.
But whether Native American or Euro-American, these residents were well-informed. When the Thirteen Colonies declared their independence from Great Britain, the residents of the western Great Lakes and upper Mississippi were involved in the resulting conflict from the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 to the attack on St. Louis in 1780.
Learn who, how, and why these residents were part of the American Revolution and the effects of the American Revolution on the residents of “Wisconsin.”
This is a Friends of the Brown County Library Signature Event.
Presented by Mary Elise Antoine, the former curator of collections and research at the Villa Louis State Historic Site. She is a graduate of Marquette University and State University of New York–Oneonta, where she earned her graduate degree in history museum studies. Antoine has over forty years of professional experience working for history museums and in historic preservation. She has written numerous articles and books, including The War of 1812 in Wisconsin: The Battle for Prairie du Chien; Frenchtown Chronicles of Prairie du Chien; and Enslaved, Indentured, Free: Five Black Women on the Upper Mississippi, 1800–1850. Mary Elise continues her work at Villa Louis and in the museum field, research, and writing. Her most recent work, An Elegant Edifice: The Women Who Forged a Legacy at Villa Louis was released by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press in May 2026. She lives in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
