Indian Creek massacre

Indian Creek Massacre
Part of the Black Hawk War
An 1878 depiction of the massacre
Date May 21, 1832 Location Near present-day Earlville, Illinois 41°32′18″N 88°50′52″W / 41.53833°N 88.84778°W / 41.53833; -88.84778
Belligerents
Illinois settlers	Potawatomi raiding party and three Sauks
Strength
23 civilians	40–80 warriors
Casualties and losses
15 killed, 2 captured

The Indian Creek Massacre occurred on May 21, 1832 with the attack by a party of Native Americans on a group of United States settlers in LaSalle County, Illinois following a dispute about a settler-constructed dam that prevented fish from reaching a nearby Potawatomi village. The incident coincided with the Black Hawk War, but it was not a direct action of the Sauk leader Black Hawk and conflict with the United States. The removal of the dam was asked, was rejected by the settlers and between 40 and 80 Potawatomis and three Sauks attacked and killed fifteen settlers, including women and children.^[1][2] Two young women kidnapped by the Indians were ransomed and released unharmed about two weeks later.

The tension of the massacre and the war prompted settlers to seek protection at frontier forts under the control of the militia. Three men were arrested for the killings, but the charges were dropped when their alleged role in the massacre could not be verified by the witnesses. Today, the site of the massacre is marked by memorials in Shabbona County Park in LaSalle County, about 14 miles (23 km) north of Ottawa, Illinois.