Spafford Farm massacre The Spafford Farm massacre , also referred to as the Wayne massacre , was an attack upon U . S . militia and civilians that occurred as part of the Black Hawk War near present day South Wayne , Wisconsin . Spafford Farm was settled in 1830 by Omri Spafford and his partner Francis Spencer . Before the war started they made numerous improvements to the parcel of land . On June 14 , 1832 five men were attacked by a Kickapoo war party , three whites were killed instantly , including Spafford . In total at least one Native and four white settlers were killed in the action . Two men managed to escape , though one was fooled into thinking Fort Hamilton had been overtaken by a group of friendly Menominee for days before he finally sought refuge there . The incident at Spafford Farm eventually led to the Battle of Horseshoe Bend ( also known as the Battle of Pecatonica ) . Background . As a consequence of an 1804 treaty between the Governor of Indiana Territory and a group of Sauk and Fox leaders regarding land settlement , in 1828 the Sauk and Fox tribes vacated their lands in Illinois and moved west of the Mississippi River . However , Sauk Black Hawk and others disputed the treaty , claiming that the full tribal councils had not been consulted , nor did those representing the tribes have authorization to cede land . Angered by the loss of his birthplace , Black Hawk led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River beginning in 1830 . Each time , he was persuaded without bloodshed to return west . In April 1832 , encouraged by promises of alliance with other tribes and the British , he again moved his so - called " British Band " of around 1 , 000 warriors and civilians into Illinois . Finding no allies , he attempted to return to Iowa , but events overtook him and 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 ensuing conflict became known as the Black Hawk War . On May 19 , a group of militia volunteers were ambushed at Buffalo Grove and the same day as the raid at Plum River , May 21 , a more famous war event , the Indian Creek massacre , occurred . The Indian Creek event , believed to mostly a peripheral event to the Black Hawk War was followed on by more violence preceding the attack at Spafford Farm . Prelude . The Spafford Farm massacre , also known as the Wayne massacre , occurred in LaFayette County , Wisconsin , near present - day South Wayne , Wisconsin during the course of the Black Hawk War . The first land claim in Lafayette County was made in tandem by Omri Spafford and Francis Spencer in 1830 . The location that become known as Spafford Farm , was located near the junction of the Spafford ' s Branch and the Pecatonica River . The pair made many improvements on the land prior to the onset of the war in 1832 . Present at Spafford Farm the day of the massacre besides Spafford was Spencer , Bennett Million , Abraham Searles , James McIllwaine , and an Englishman identified only by the moniker " John Bull " , but probably being John Compton . Massacre . On June 14 , 1832 the six men were sent from Fort Hamilton to work on Spafford Farm . The group had just commenced working when they were attacked by a band of Kickapoo warriors . The warriors had concealed themselves in some trees near the farmstead and opened fire in a surprise attack . The men dropped their tools and broke for the Pecatonica River , reaching the river and making a hasty crossing . Having crossed the river , four of the men were shot as they clambered up the opposite bank . Spafford , Searles and McIllwaine were killed instantly in the melee ; also killed was " Bull " ( probably John Compton ) . Spencer and 17 - year - old Million were able to escape the attackers . Million escaped by jumping into the Pecatonica River , hiding in brush and making his way to Fort Hamilton . Spencer ' s escape was a longer process . He did not jump into the river , but hid along the banks . One of the attackers pursued him but Spencer killed the warrior before he could be overtaken . He wandered the woods for several days before reaching Fort Hamilton . Spencer reached Fort Hamilton around the same time that Colonel William S . Hamilton arrived with a large group of Menominee who had volunteered against the Sauk and Fox . Afraid that the fort had also been attacked , Spencer retreated back into the woods . He avoided the fort for between six and nine days , when hunger finally drove him into the open where he realized his mistake . Aftermath . Word of the attack at Spafford ' s farm spread quickly to Fort Defiance , about five miles southeast of Mineral Point . A small volunteer force of 13 men was assembled at Fort Defiance and they set off to hunt down the band of Native Americans responsible for the massacre . The group reached Fort Hamilton at around midnight on June 15 . On the morning of June 15 survivor , Bennett Million guided the militia volunteers back to the site of the massacre ; one of the volunteers was Alexander Higgenbotham , a survivor of the St . Vrain massacre . The bodies of the dead were badly mutilated and Spafford ' s corpse was headless ; his head was found scalped and tossed into the grass along the river bank . The volunteers buried the mangled bodies of the fallen and searched in vain for Spencer , whom they also assumed dead . Colonel Henry Dodge was at Gratiot ' s Grove when the war descended upon Spafford Farm , having just sent his volunteers to their forts to resupply and recuperate . Shortly after he arrived back at his home fort , he received word of the Aubrey murder at Fort Blue Mounds and the incident at Spafford Farm . Dodge ordered militia detachments from Fort Defiance , Fort Jackson , and Fort Hamilton to the scene of the massacre . After the massacre , General Henry Atkinson was informed that Dodge was to take over General Alexander Posey ' s brigade at Fort Hamilton . While Dodge was on his way to visit the brigade , he heard a rifle shot from a group of Native Americans . Dodge quickly returned to his command post and gathered as many men as he could to pursue the enemy . With Dodge in quick pursuit , a group of approximately 25 Native warriors criss - crossed the Pecatonica River until , finding flight hopeless , they prepared to make a stand at the Battle of Pecatonica .