Battle of Stillman's Run

The Battle of Stillman's Run, also known as the Battle of Sycamore Creek or the Battle of Old Man's Creek, occurred on May 14, 1832. The battle was named for Major Isaiah Stillman and his detachment of 275 Illinois militia which fled in a panic from a smaller number of Sauk warriors. The engagement was the first battle of the 1832 Black Hawk War which had ignited after Black Hawk crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois with his "British Band" of Sauk and Fox. The militia pursued a group of Sauk scouts back to the main British Band camp following a failed attempt at truce negotiations by emissaries sent by Black Hawk.

During the engagement 12 militia men were killed while making a stand on a small hill. The rest of the militia fled back to Dixon's Ferry where they spread news of a terrible slaughter at Stillman's Run. It is believed that militia volunteer Abraham Lincoln helped bury the dead at the battlefield following the fight; this claim, however, was still under investigation. An article published in 2006 corroborated Lincoln's presence at the burial; though there is little agreement amongst various other sources. In 1901 a monument was erected in Stillman Valley, Illinois commemorating the battle.

Background
Angered by the loss of his birthplace via prior disputed treaties, and against the best interests of other tribes affected, Black Hawk led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River beginning in 1830. Each time, he was persuaded to return west without bloodshed. In April 1832, encouraged by promises of alliances with other tribes and the British, he again moved his "British Band" into Illinois. Finding no allies, he attempted to return to Iowa, but ensuing events led to the Battle of Stillman's Run. A number of other engagements followed, and the state militias of Wisconsin and Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk's band. The conflict became known as the Black Hawk War. On April 5, 1832, Black Hawk and around 1,000 warriors and civilians recrossed the Mississippi River into Illinois in an attempt to reclaim their land. About half of Black Hawk's band were combatants and the rest were a combination of women, children, and elderly. The band consisted of Sauk, Fox, some Potawatomi, and some Kickapoo; in addition some members of the Ho-Chunk nation were sympathetic to Black Hawk. Black Hawk's reason for crossing into Illinois was that he wanted to reclaim lost lands, and perhaps, create a confederacy of Native Americans to stand against white settlement. Promises of aid from other Illinois tribes were made to the British Band and Black Hawk believed that promises of assistance were made by the British in Canada.

The group marched along the Rock River into Illinois under the leadership of Black Hawk. Illinois Governor John Reynolds viewed the return of Black Hawk as an invasion and he immediately called up the militia. The military expedition was turned over to General Henry Atkinson, who Black Hawk addressed as "White Beaver."

Prelude
Atkinson was not informed of Governor Reynolds' decision to order Major Isaiah Stillman's militia to march on Old Man's Creek, despite being in overall command. Stillman's orders were written under General Samuel Whiteside's name and in Reynolds' hand, but clearly ordered Stillman to find Black Hawk and coerce him into submission. Following these orders, Stillman moved on Old Mans Creek. In fact, Whiteside had refused to accept Stillman's battalion under his command, thus leaving it "orphaned" and under the direct command of Reynolds. The militia that was under the authority of Whiteside grew restless as they awaited the arrival of Atkinson and his Army regulars, many of the volunteer militia wanted to quit the war and head back home. When diplomacy failed to bring Black Hawk back's band west, Stillman and Bailey's battalions of Illinois Militia was marched up the Rock River.

Prior to the battle at Stillman's Run, Black Hawk's grand vision of British support, and an Native American confederacy had collapsed. There would be no one to aid him or his followers. The British Band started to weaken with hunger, and Black Hawk soon realized that the only option was to return across the Mississippi River. When he detected the U.S. militia camp eight miles (13 km) away, Black Hawk sent out peace envoys in order to negotiate a truce. They were told to wave a white flag at the militia.

Battle
On May 14, 1832, a detachment of 275 militia under the command of Majors Isaiah Stillman and David Bailey, under orders from Illinois Governor Reynolds, were encamped near Old Man's Creek, not far from its confluence with the Rock River. The militia camp was located about three miles (5 km) east of the Rock River near present-day Stillman Valley, Illinois, and seven miles (11 km) south of the Sauk encampment. It is believed that the militia and its commanders were unaware of their proximity to Black Hawk's British Band.

Black Hawk, in conference with the local Potawatomi, learned of Stillman's presence and sent three emissaries to the militia camp under a flag of parley in order to negotiate a peace with the soldiers. The already suspicious soldiers took the three emissaries to their camp, and during the proceedings the militia became aware of several of Black Hawk's scouts in the surrounding hills, watching the proceedings. Once the scouts were spotted, soldiers shot at the three emissaries, killing one. The other two fled back toward their camp, located near the confluence of the Rock and Kishwaukee Rivers.

The scouts fled but were pursued by the disorganized militia and several were killed. The surviving scouts arrived at Black Hawk's camp ahead of the militia and reported the events. At the camp, the warriors then set up a skirmish line in order to fend off the pending militia attack. The militia soldiers, intent on pursuing the scouts, chased them back toward the main force of Black Hawk's warriors and their skirmish line. Black Hawk and his force concealed themselves and ambushed the pursuers. The soldiers, believing that thousands of Sauk and Fox were chasing them, panicked and fled back to the main force camped at Dixon's Ferry. Stillman's exact whereabouts are unknown during this point in the battle, a later newspaper account written by him did not mention his location and noted his only order was to retreat. Stillman's account, published in the Missouri Republican, has been called fanciful.

Twelve of Stillman's militia were killed in the melee. A band of volunteers under the leadership of Captain John Giles Adams made a stand on a hill south of the main militia camp. The men fought by moonlight as the main body of the militia fled back to Dixon. The entire 12-man detachment, including Adams, was killed in the fight. It has also been asserted that Adams may have, in fact, been killed by his own men as he futilely attempted to muster them to battle. The number of Sauk and Fox killed in the engagement is largely unknown; the militia party that was sent to locate the "missing" 53 militia men found no dead Sauk. Black Hawk is quoted as saying at least three and maybe as many as five of his warriors were killed.

Lincoln's role


Abraham Lincoln's service during the Black Hawk War has been a source of discrepancies and questioning, with two major battle sites, including Stillman's Run, being affiliated with Lincoln in the aftermath of combat. A number of sources assert that on June 26, 1832, the morning after the Second Battle of Kellogg's Grove members of the company of Captain Jacob M. Early arrived at Kellogg's Grove to help bury the dead. One of the soldiers in the company was Lincoln. Lincoln assisted with the burial and later made a statement about the experience that has been connected with both the battle at Kellogg's Grove and the fight at Stillman's Run.

I remember just how those men looked as we rode up the little hill where their camp was. The red light of the morning sun was streaming upon them as they lay head towards us on the ground. And every man had a round red spot on top of his head, about as big as a dollar where the redskins had taken his scalp. It was frightful, but it was grotesque, and the red sunlight seemed to paint everything all over. I remember one man had on buckskin breeches.

The Lincoln quote appeared both in William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Wiek's Life of Lincoln and Carl Sandburg's Lincoln biography, Abraham Lincoln The Prairie Years. Lincoln's presence at Stillman's Run was still under investigation, but his presence at Kellogg's Grove has been corroborated by several sources. In a 2006 article, author Scott Dyer asserted that Whiteside's men, including Captain Lincoln, "paraded" the area the morning after, and buried the dead from Stillman's Run. Their movements were in an unsuccessful effort to draw out the Sauk, after which they returned to Dixon's Ferry. Lincoln made a humorous remark during an 1848 speech before the U.S. Congress in which he referenced his Black Hawk War service, mentioning Stillman's Run by name.

By the way Mr. Speaker, did you know that I am a military hero? Yes sir, in the days of the Black Hawk War I fought, bled and came away. . . I was not at Stillman's defeat, but I was about as near it as Cass was Hull's surrender, and, like him, I saw the place very soon afterwards.

The marble facade on the Stillman Valley monument, erected in 1901, commemorating the battle, includes the reference to Lincoln's presence at Stillman's Run, "The presence of soldier, statesman, martyr, Abraham Lincoln assisting in the burial of these honored dead has made this spot more sacred." Still, other sources assert that it was General Whiteside who originally buried the dead in a common grave on a ridge south of the battlefield, marked with a rudimentary wooden memorial. These sources make no mention of Lincoln.

Aftermath
Following the first confrontation at Stillman Valley, the exaggerated claim that 2,000 "bloodthirsty warriors were sweeping all Northern Illinois with the bosom of destruction" sent shock waves of terror through the region. Past midnight on May 15 soldiers from Stillman's ill-fated detachment began streaming back into Dixon's Ferry, wide-eyed and panic-stricken, telling tales of a horrible slaughter that had ensued during the battle. In the immediate aftermath of the battle 53 militia men were missing, though it was later determined that the majority of those had simply passed Dixon's Ferry by on their way home. After this initial skirmish, Black Hawk led many of the civilians in his band to the Michigan Territory. On May 19, the militia traveled up the Rock River trailing and searching for Black Hawk and his band. Several small skirmishes and massacres ensued over the next month in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin before the militia was able to regain public confidence in battles at Bloody Lake and Waddams Grove.

The debacle at Stillman' Run added fuel to the fire for critics of the Illinois Militia, mostly members of the Regular Army. Critics began, almost immediately, to refer to the battle at Old Man's Creek as the Battle of Stillman's Run, because Stillman had apparently fled with the panicked militia.

Armed hostilities during the Black Hawk War began at Stillman's Run and the victory was unexpected for Black Hawk and his British Band. Black Hawk feared that the white militia and its allies would seek revenge through his total and utter defeat. Leading his starving band, Black Hawk fled from Atkinson's pursuing army. The chase would take them as far as present day Madison, Wisconsin, and end at the Battle of Bad Axe, where the militia and its allies would massacre a weakened foe, by then made up of mostly women and children.

The remains of the soldiers were originally buried in a common grave, but who buried them remains an open question. A memorial, erected in 1901, stands near their marked graves today. The monument and battle site are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, and located along Illinois Route 72 a block west of present-day Stillman Creek.