Plum River raid The Plum River raid was a bloodless skirmish that occurred at present - day Savanna , Illinois , on May 21 , 1832 , as part of the Black Hawk War . Most of the settlement ' s inhabitants , except for a few defenders , had fled for Galena , Illinois , before the raid happened . A small band of Native Americans , either Sauk or Fox , attacked the settlement while only three of the six defenders were present . The men who were present fell back to the blockhouse and a firefight ensued for about one hour , after which the attackers withdrew . No one was killed or injured during the attack , but in its aftermath Colonel James M . Strode dispatched a detachment of militia to Savanna . They returned to Galena without incident and the settlement at Savanna was temporarily abandoned . 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 , 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 1000 warriors and non - combatants into Illinois . Finding no allies , he attempted to return across the Mississippi ( to modern Iowa ) , but ensuing events led to the Battle of Stillman ' s Run . A number of other engagements followed and the militia of Michigan Territory and the state of Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk ' s band . The conflict became known as the Black Hawk War . After Stillman ' s Run , an ambush at Buffalo Grove killed one militia member two days before the raid on the Plum River settlement . Prelude . The settlement at the mouth of the Plum River was established in 1827 when copper was discovered near the Mississippi River . When the Black Hawk War erupted in 1832 , the settlement at Plum River consisted of 25 people . When the settlers were informed of Black Hawk ' s invasion they were undecided about whether or not to abandon their homes for safer grounds in Galena , Illinois . In the end , while nearby towns such as Hanover emptied of their residents , the citizens at Plum River decided to send the women and children to Galena and leave the men to stick it out on the frontier . They partially disassembled two of the settlement ' s homes and constructed a blockhouse for protection . Left to defend the impromptu fortifications were Aaron Pierce , Vance Davidson , Robert Upton , William Blundell , Leonard Goss and a man known as Hays . On May 19 another group of militia volunteers were ambushed at Buffalo Grove and two days later the more famous Indian Creek massacre occurred ( on the same day as the raid at Plum River ) . Attack . On May 21 , 1832 , a small raiding party made up of some independent minded braves from Keokuk ' s village or the Fox village at Dubuque ' s Mines carried out a raid on the settlement at present - day Savanna , Illinois on the Plum River . The party originated west of the Mississippi River and were probably motivated by a desire to collect needed supplies . When the small raiding party arrived at the settlement they found it practically deserted : only three men were present . Of the six men originally at the settlement , three had left when the raiding party arrived : Blundell was away , Upton was hunting nearby , and Davidson had left the area in search of a horse . Of the three men left at the settlement , Hays and Goss were trying to round up livestock , while only Pierce remained at the blockhouse . Pierce heard a dog barking outside and looked up to see a small band of Native Americans creeping along the river ' s edge . He immediately sounded the alarm and Hays and Goss sprinted for the blockhouse . Gunshots started to explode behind the men as they approached the protection of their makeshift fortification . Goss darted inside , but Hays slipped and fell before he could enter the blockhouse . As he fell , three musket balls lodged themselves into the wall where he had been standing moments before . While the attackers reloaded , Hays slipped inside and for about an hour an exchange of heavy gunfire erupted between the parties before the attackers withdrew . A fourth man , Upton , was out hunting nearby ; when he was discovered by the attackers he was chased throughout the afternoon . Upton escaped the attackers injury - free . In fact , no person was killed or injured during the Plum River raid . The small raiding party escaped with three horses , but two horses were badly wounded by gunfire , and the other shot dead by the settlement ' s defenders . Aftermath . The men at the Plum River settlement waited overnight and then fled to Galena where they reported the incident to Colonel James M . Strode . He ordered a militia party to the settlement to secure the it and make sure the attackers were dealt with accordingly . When the detachment arrived at Savanna they found no Native Americans , and plenty of bullet holes from the battle . The group continued to Fort Armstrong , where they picked up supplies , and returned to Galena without incident . On June 1 , then - Colonel Zachary Taylor expressed his concerns about recent events , including the Plum River raid in a letter to General Henry Atkinson . He stated that there had no doubt been an attack at the settlement , but no one was killed and the site abandoned since .