Stillman’s Run Battle Site Memorial

In 1832, counties in central Illinois were calling for volunteers to protect the frontier from Black Hawk and his Sauk warriors. On the morning of May 14, 1832, tensions came to a head. Black Hawk’s warriors discovered Major Isaiah Stillman and nearly 300 militia men had set up camp uncomfortably close by, near Sycamore Creek in what is now Ogle County. Black Hawk, not yet ready for combat, sent three men to negotiate with the unit (sources disagree on whether or not he sent them under the white flag of truce), but he also sent five additional men out as scouts to keep an eye on the safety of his messengers. Some of Stillman’s men spied the scouts and fired on them. Chaos erupted as two of the scouts and one messenger were killed.

Although Black Hawk’s men were few (30-50 by most accounts), Stillman’s troops were inexperienced (some say intoxicated), and the battle - if it could be called that - was disordered and confused. Stillman, certain he was outnumbered, issued an order to retreat back to Dixon’s Ferry. In the midst of this disorganized withdrawal, 12 of Stillman’s men were killed while attempting to make a stand on a hill.

The next day, future president Abraham Lincoln, then just a soldier from Sangamon County, came upon the remains of the unfortunate men and helped bury them in a common grave. The names of these 12 soldiers are noted on the Stillman's Run memorial, and their military headstones are displayed in front of it. The area around this hill is named Stillman Valley, but Major Isaiah Stillman is more likely remembered for his ignominious military defeat and the battle named after it.