A close-quarters engagement of the Black Hawk War in which Sauk raiders and Illinois militia clashed near Yellow Creek, resulting in casualties on both sides.
Key Facts
- Date
- June 18, 1832
- Location
- Stephenson County, Illinois
- Militia casualties
- 3 killed
- Militia commander
- Captain James W. Stephenson
- Commander's wound
- Musketball to the chest
- Memorial site
- Kellogg's Grove, Illinois
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following a series of Sauk Indian raids on settlers along the Apple River in Illinois during the summer of 1832, Captain James W. Stephenson assembled a volunteer militia force at Galena and set out in pursuit of the Sauk raiding party responsible for the attacks.
On June 18, 1832, Stephenson's militia intercepted the Sauk party near Yellow Creek in present-day Stephenson County, Illinois. The engagement escalated into hand-to-hand combat involving bayonets and knives. Three militiamen were killed and Stephenson himself was severely wounded by a musketball to the chest; several Sauk fighters were also killed.
The dead from the battle were eventually interred in a memorial cemetery at Kellogg's Grove, Illinois, where a stone monument was erected to honor those killed during the Black Hawk War. The battle is remembered as one of the more intense close-quarters skirmishes of the conflict.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Captain James W. Stephenson.
Side B
1 belligerent