Attack at Ament ' s Cabin The Attack at Ament ' s Cabin was an event during the Black Hawk War that occurred on 17 or June 18 , 1832 . The cabin site , in present day Bureau County , Illinois , was settled by John L . Ament and his brother in 1829 , although Ament ' s brother was quickly bought out by Elijah Phillips . After the 1832 Black Hawk War broke out , Ament and Phillips evacuated the site but later returned to collect belongings . On the morning of 17 or 18 June , the men were attacked by a band of Potawatomi , led by Mike Girty , probably those responsible for the Indian Creek massacre in May . Phillips was killed and the other men took shelter in Ament ' s cabin . Soldiers from Hennepin arrived after the attack and found Phillips ' badly tomahawked body where he had fallen . They set off in a short pursuit of the attackers but eventually returned to Hennepin , Illinois with Phillips ' remains . Background . The site of Ament ' s cabin was settled in 1829 when John L . Ament and his brother Justin staked claim on adjacent claims Berlin and Dover Townships , in present day Bureau County , Illinois . Shortly after settling , Elijah Phillips bought Justin Ament ' s land and built his own cabin . West of Ament ' s and Phillips ' settlement was a large Native American sugar camp , part of this camp was included in Ament ' s claim . The camp was a place where Native Americans lived during the winter and spring on an annual basis . The group , a band that included about a dozen families , was led by a chief named Meommuse . By the time Ament ' s cabin was constructed , the group had been making sugar at the location for 42 consecutive years . When the area was settled by Ament and Phillips , relations between the settlers and the Native American tribes began to deteriorate . As a consequence of an 1804 treaty between the Governor of Indiana Territory and a group of Sauk and Fox leaders regarding land settlement , the Sauk and Fox tribes vacated their lands in Illinois and moved west of the Mississippi in 1828 . However , Sauk Chief 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 lands . Angered by the loss of his birthplace , between 1830 – 31 Black Hawk led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River , but was persuaded to return west each time without bloodshed . 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 non - combatants into Illinois . Finding no allies , he attempted to return to Iowa , but the undisciplined Illinois militia ' s actions led to the Battle of Stillman ' s Run . A number of other engagements followed , and the militias of Michigan Territory and Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk ' s Band . The conflict became known as the Black Hawk War . Prelude . Before the raid at the cabin , animosity already existed between Ament and the band under Meommuse at the sugar camp . Meommuse ' s historical use of the camp contributed to his and his band ' s anger over Ament building his cabin in such close vicinity . The bad blood had already boiled over at least once : Ament had shot one of the band ' s dogs . Prior to the attack , both Ament and Phillips were warned by Potawatomi chief Shabbona of impending danger to the settlers along Bureau Creek . Heeding the warnings , the men had fled , with their families , leaving their goods and livestock behind . Eventually , it was decided that it was safe to return to the settlement to gather the deserted possessions . About two weeks after fleeing their cabins , a party of seven men , Elijah Phillips , J . Hodges , Sylvester Brigham , John L . Ament , Aaron Gunn , James G . Forristall and a 16 - year old named Ziba Dimmick left Hennepin , Illinois for the small settlement along Bureau Creek where Ament ' s cabin was located . Phillips was a member of the militia , enlisted as a private in Captain George B . Willis ' company out of Putnam County , Illinois – it is unclear whether any of the other men were militia members . The party left on either 16 or June 17 ( older histories do not agree on the exact day ) and reached their destination in the early evening . The men arrived at Ament ' s cabin , 1 . 5 miles ( 2 . 4 km ) north of present - day Dover , ate dinner and spent the rainy night at the site . The band at the sugar camp was notified of the settlers ' return to the cabins by a young warrior who had observed them arriving . While the settlers ate dinner , a group from the sugar camp quietly concealed themselves in the underbrush and approached Ament ' s cabin undetected . There were Potawatomi among the band , one of whom was a son to Chief Meommuse . The group has been named responsible for the May 21 Indian Creek massacre and the murder of a minister , Adam Payne , on the road to Ottawa . This particular group of Potawatomi was under the leadership of Mike Girty . As the men socialized after dinner , the Potawatomi waited in the brush , intending to attack the settlers as they left the cabin , but as they waited it began to rain . The band waited in the rain for many hours but the storm did not let up and they decided to abandon their plans for attack until the next morning . Attack . The next morning , either June 17 or 18 , the band of about 30 Native Americans returned to their hidden positions and awaited the settlers . When the settlers awoke , Brigham and Phillips went onto the porch of Ament ' s cabin where they conversed for a few minutes , failing to notice the moccasin tracks around the property . Phillips decided to go to his cabin , about a half mile ( . 8 km ) from Ament ' s property , to finish a letter to his parents . Brigham , intending to accompany Phillips , entered his cabin for a moment , and once inside he heard the sound of musket fire outside . Phillips , mortally wounded , fell to the ground , struck by two musket balls . The band of raiding Native Americans immediately descended upon him with their tomahawks . The other settlers rushed into the cabin as the raiding warriors surrounded the house . They shut the door and aimed their weapons through cracks in the walls . Two of the men stood near the doorway with their weapons , and Hodges ' weapon came into contact with Girty ' s chest causing him , and his group , to retreat into the woods . Young Dimmick , anxious to the point of begging to leave , was then dispatched to Hennepin by horseback for help . The men at the cabin expected Dimmick to be shot as soon as he rode off , but he crossed the open prairie unscathed . Dimmick made the 16 mile ( 25 . 7 km ) journey and arrived in Hennepin to report the attack . Aftermath . Dimmick ' s report of the incident was not well received by the people of Hennepin ; it caused a general panic as citizens were convinced that Black Hawk ' s entire British Band was poised to attack the town . In Hennepin that day , were two companies of Rangers , and a call for volunteers went out among them to aid the settlers at Ament ' s cabin . Volunteers were gathered , and though some were reluctant to go , the rescue group of between 30 and 70 men started toward Ament ' s cabin . When the Rangers arrived at the cabin site they found the Ament and the other men safely barricaded inside the cabin . Ament waved a white flag through the roof to signal the soldiers as they approached . Outside , they found the undisturbed body of Phillips lying where he had fallen , in the dooryard with his face upturned . He had been shot through the left side of his chest and through the stomach . His body was badly tomahawked , and had slashes across one eye and his neck . He had not , however , been scalped . The Rangers formed a small detachment and set off in pursuit of the attackers but they soon gave up and returned to Hennepin with Phillips ' remains . The funeral took place the next day and was attended by citizens and soldiers alike .