Ogle County IL Archives History .....The Black Hawk War - Battle Of Stillman's Run 1901
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Deb Haines http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00003.html#0000719 April 7, 2008, 9:17 pm

Source: Publication No. 6 of the Illinois State Historical Library
Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society
For the Year, 1901
Published by Authority of the Board of Trustees of the State Historical Library
Springfield IL: Phillips Bros., State Printers, 1901.


THE BLACK HAWK WAR.

An Account of the Discovery of the Graves of the Men Who Fell in the "Battle 
of Stillman's Run," on May 14, 1862*. 

By Rev. R. W. Newlands. of Stillman Valley, Illinois.

Illinois has always been ready to give of her sons for the defense of her 
country, yet unlike many other states, she has seen but few battles on her own 
soil. Not merely because Major Stillman's fight was one of those few, but 
because of its far-reaching results, do I feel that the State should aid in 
commemorating an event, the importance of which is not appreciated as it ought 
to be. For it is undoubtedly true that in this engagement the blood of 
American soldiers was shed for the first time in the Black Hawk war. It is 
also true that the wild alarm that spread over Illinois on the defeat of 
Stillman and his small force, because of the exaggerated reports as to the 
number of Indians engaged, caused the calling out of several thousand of men, 
(Abraham Lincoln being one of them), and the final result was the complete 
overthrow and expulsion of the red man, and the opening of the beautiful and 
fertile Rock River valley for the settlement by the whites. The whole of 
northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin was profoundly affected by this 
movement.

Having lived in Black Hawk's country for nearly six years, most of that time 
within twenty miles of what was once the chief town of the Sac nation, I have 
since been interested in the struggles of that great chief to retain the land 
of his fathers, and I have at different times examined the chief authorities 
on the subject. Coming to Stillman Valley nearly two years ago, I at once 
resumed my study of the Sac warrior, and particularly the part he played in 
the battle, if such it may be called, of "Stillman's Run." Putting together 
accounts in histories, and reliable statements made by some of our oldest 
settlers, I became convinced that it would not be difficult to get at the 
facts in the case. My interest naturally centered around the hill on which the 
fight took place, and where it was generally believed the dead were buried. 
But opinions varied as to the real place of burial, while some held they were 
not buried on the hill at all, but some distance to the south of it. And the 
number said to be buried there varied from five to eleven. It was generally 
believed, however, that the spot has been regarded as the place of sepulture 
by Joshua White, who received the land from the government, and had on that 
account refused to have the virgin soil broken by the plow.

A few years ago this ground was platted—Joshua White having died—and the 
property four years ago was bought by Dr. E. P. Allan, who, fifteen months 
ago, offered it for sale at public auction. Feeling that it might be bought by 
some one for building purposes, the sacred spot desecrated, and perhaps 
finally forgotten, I determined, if possible, to locate beyond a peradventure, 
the exact spot where the volunteers were laid.

On Tuesday afternoon, November 14, 1899, J. A. Atwood and I started for the 
hill, spade in hand. We first examined the stratification of the hill as 
revealed in the cut made for the road running east across the brow of the 
hill. The strata, as expected, were clearly marked. A loamy superficial soil 
about ten inches deep, then a yellowish sandy sub-soil of about the same 
depth, followed by a pea-gravel running into coarser gravel. With this 
information, we felt that if we located the graves, the spot would be 
identified by the mixed earth, sand and gravel, and particularly by the 
presence of gravel on
the surface. We tested the ground at every place where the grave was supposed 
to be, but we found only the pure black loam in every case. I presume we tried 
from forty to fifty different spots without a clue. Then I went over to the 
western slope of the hill and tried in several places there, although no one 
supposed the graves to be on that side. I noticed a little gravel on the 
surface at one place, but fancied it had fallen off some passing wagon, as 
wagon tracks were plainly visible, and the ground seemed somewhat uneven. In 
attempting to scrape the gravel off, I found it ran deeper, so, digging a hole 
some eighteen or twenty inches deep, and finding gravel still present, I was 
convinced that the ground here had been disturbed, and that in all probability 
this was the long lost grave we sought. As evening was upon us, we decided to 
continue our excavations the next day. On the following morning, November 
15th, we were on the ground again. Enlarging the hole already made, by 
scraping toward the south, I soon came to the end of the mixed earth. I judged 
that point to be the limit of the grave or trench, and proceeded to dig a hole 
about three feet square. After going down about two-feet, I decided to take 
the earth out in thin layers, lest the bones might be broken. At a depth of 
about three feet I unearthed one of the phalanges of the right hand, then 
others, then the thigh bones immediately below, and I saw that we had alighted 
on the middle of the body of the man who had been laid at the end of the row 
in the trench. Every bone was carefully removed one by one without breaking. 
The suggestion that it might be the skeleton of an Indian was quickly set 
aside when several buttons and a vest buckle were discovered, and a minute 
later the skull was taken out, showing every tooth present, and without a 
single sign of decay. The skull had not the prominent cheekbones, nor the 
retreating forehead of the Indian. But the lower limbs and feet, which were 
removed last, dispelled any doubt that may have remained in the minds of the 
crowd of spectators who had by this time assembled; for it was found that the 
cavalry boots which the soldiers wore when killed, were still intact, and the 
blanket in which he had been wrapped for burial was plainly seen, although it 
had rotted too much to permit of its being removed from the grave even in very 
small pieces. The skeleton was evidently that of a man over six feet in 
height, as the femur measured twenty-two inches in length. The body had been 
buried on its back, but the face was turned downward, showing that he had been 
decapitated. For a skeleton that had been in the grave for over sixty-seven 
years, it was in a remarkably well preserved condition, doubtless owing to the 
sandy nature of the soil and the dry location. The bones were all replaced in 
a suitable box and reinterred in the same spot. The other bodies were not 
disturbed, but the extent of the trench was determined and the limits marked 
by posts. Since then the property has been bought by the "Battleground 
Memorial Association" which was organized immediately after the recovery of 
the graves, and duly incorporated under the laws of the State. The sacred spot 
was decorated for the first time last Memorial Day.

It may not be inappropriate to recall the circumstances under which those men 
lost their lives.

The treaty of 1804, by which certain chiefs of the Sac and Fox Indians ceded 
to the United States government their lands on Rock River and elsewhere, was 
confirmed by other chiefs of the same nations in 1815, but Black Hawk, who was 
a leader by nature but not a chief by birth, bitterly opposed the sale, and 
always declared that the Indians who ceded the lands had been intoxicated and 
bribed by the whites, and insisted that the lands were not sold with the 
consent of the nation as a whole. Black Hawk with his people were, however, 
compelled to leave the Rock River valley for a government reservation in Iowa. 
In 1832, egged on by the false promises of the Prophet Neapope, of support 
from the Pottawottamies and Winnebagoes, Black Hawk recrossed the Mississippi 
with his women and children and three hundred braves, and took possession of 
the old cornfields. He was warned by Governor Atkinson to return to Iowa, but 
he refused. A call was made for volunteers, and these, under General's 
Atkinson and Whiteside, marched to Dixon's Ferry, where a reconnoisance was 
decided upon. Two officers, Majors Stillman and Bailey, neither of whom had 
ever seen any fighting, begged to be put forward on some difficult service. To 
gratify them, they, with their two battalions or mounted volunteers consisting 
of 275 men all told, were ordered up Rock River to spy out the Indians. 
Pursuing his way on the east side of the river, Major Stillman came to what is 
now called Stillman creek, on May 14, 1832, and encamped at nightfall in the 
timber on the north side of the stream. As the volunteers were preparing for 
supper, three Indians appeared coming from the north, one of them carrying a 
white flag. They were met on approaching the camp, and one was ruthlessly 
shot, while the other two escaped. Another party of five Indians who had been 
sent to watch the truce party, on hearing the shots and seeing the others 
fleeing, started back with all haste to the camp of Black Hawk on the 
Kishwaukee river to give the alarm. A party of fifteen or twenty whites, 
chiefly of Captain Ead's company, without orders or commander, started in hot 
pursuit, and succeeded in overtaking and killing two of the fleeing Indians. 
Nearing the Indian camp the war whoop was raised, and Black Hawk, with about 
forty of his warriors—all that were in camp at that time, advanced to meet the 
whites. Ead's men, doubtless judging by the yells that they were greatly 
outnumbered, immediately turned and fled, followed by the Sacs on their 
ponies. Instead of drawing rein when they regained their camp, the terrified 
whites gave the alarm that hundreds of savages were at their heels. They could 
easily have formed in the timber and defeated ten times the number of those 
pursuing, but, panic-struck, the men sprang to their horses, many of them 
cutting the hitching straps after they had mounted, and in disorderly rabble 
crossed the ford and dashed southward. On reaching the rising ground on the 
south side of the creek, an attempt was made to rally the men but it was of no 
avail. Many of them never stopped until they reached Dixon, twenty-five miles 
away. Captain John G. Adams, with a dozen or so others, heroically covered the 
retreat of their companions and checked the career of the Indians, and many 
thereby escaped who would otherwise have fallen. But Adams himself, with three 
of his own company and five others, paid the price with their lives.

On the arrival of the routed soldiers at the camp at Dixon's Ferry, with 
exaggerated stories of the numbers of their pursuers, a council of war was 
held in the night, and early the next morning 2,000 men marched to the scene 
of the disaster and buried the dead. The nine who died on the hill were found 
scalped and fearfully mutilated, while Captain Adams and Major Perkins were 
also decapitated. These nine were laid in one trench. It is generally believed 
that eleven whites fell in the stampede but only ten names are to be found in 
the Adjutant General's report, and these are as follows:

Captain John G. Adams, Pekin, Ill. 
Major Isaac Perkins, Pekin. 
Sergeant John Walters, Fulton county. 
Corporal Bird W. Ellis, Fulton county. 
Corporal James Milton, Decatur. 
Private Joseph Draper, Bloomington. 
Private David Kreeps, Pekin. 
Private Zadock Mendinall, Pekin. 
Private Tyrus M. Childs, Fulton county. 
Private Joseph B. Farris, Fulton county.

This report is, however, admittedly incomplete and inaccurate. The records 
were not collected and published until fifty years after the battle occurred.

The early settlers of Stillman Valley, (a few of whom still survive) found 
evidences of Stillman's camp in the remains of baggage wagons, whisky barrels, 
tents, tin cups and parts of hitching straps tied to trees.

No one can read the history of our Indian wars without feeling that many of 
them were far from being a credit to the nation. And the Black Hawk war in 
particular, was characterized by many acts, happily seldom heard of in 
civilized warfare. From the shameless shooting down of the bearer of a flag of 
truce, which shooting led to the utter routing of Stillman's men and 
undoubtedly precipitated the war, down to the final corraling and massacreing 
of a worn-out handful of braves, on the eastern bank of the Mississippi, 
between an overwhelming force of whites on the shore, and the armed 
steamship "Warrior" on the river, the white man appears oftenest as the 
savage, and perhaps it is well that full official details have not been 
preserved. Nevertheless, there were many brave men who shouldered a musket at 
the call of Governor Reynolds, and who shortly thereafter—in one case only 
sixteen days—yielded their lives that the white settler might live in peace 
and happiness in the beautiful country of the Sacs and Winnebagoes. And the 
student of history will feel that the remains of some of those heroes lie on 
the hillock in Stillman Valley, now happily in known and marked graves.

Robert W. Newlands, Pastor Congregational Church.

Stillman Valley, Ill., 15 Jan., 1901. 

[Note.—In 1901 the Forty-second General Assembly of Illinois appropriated the 
sum of $5,000 for the erection of a monument near Stillman Valley, in Ogle 
county, in memory of the ten soldiers of Major Josiah Still man's command 
slain by Black Hawk's Indians near the head of Old Man's creek, on the 14th of 
May, 1832, whose remains were discovered in 1900, as related in the foregoing 
paper.


*Please note, May 14, 1862 refers to the date the graves were discovered. The 
Black Hawk War was fought in 1832.

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