Reconstructed Apple River Fort, near its original site
Date
June 24, 1832
Location
Near present day Elizabeth, Illinois
Result
United States victory
Belligerents
United States
Sauk/Fox
Commanders and leaders
Captain Clack Stone/Illinois Militia
Black Hawk
Strength
28-30
150-200
Casualties and losses
1 KIA 2 WIA
Unknown
v
t
e
Black Hawk War of 1832
Minor battles
Stillman's Run
Buffalo Grove
Plum River
Indian Creek
St. Vrain
Fort Blue Mounds
Spafford Farm
Horseshoe Bend
Waddams Grove
Kellogg's Grove
Ament's Cabin
Apple River Fort
Sinsinawa Mound
Wisconsin Heights
Bad Axe
The Battle of Apple River Fort, occurred on the late afternoon of June 24, 1832 at the Apple River Fort, near present-day Elizabeth, Illinois, when Black Hawk and 200 of his "British Band" of Sauk and Fox were surprised by a group of four messengers en route from Galena, Illinois. One of the couriers was wounded in the thigh as the riders quickly made for the protection of the nearby stockade. Courier Fred Dixon lagged behind and provided cover for his comrades. The other couriers rode ahead to warn some 70 settlers of the approaching Sauk and Fox, thus saving their lives. The small company of militia at the fort, about 28-30 men and boys led by Captain Clack Stone, fought off Black Hawk's 150-man war party in an action that lasted about an hour. The withering pace of the gunfire eventually convinced Black Hawk that the fort was too heavily defended to lead a direct attack. He considered burning the fort, then switched to raiding cabins of foodstuffs, clothing and cooking utensils. In the gathering darkness, Black Hawk and his war party retreated.
After the battle, some of the fort defenders won praise for their efforts to repel the Indian attack. Among them were: Elizabeth Winters, Rebecca Hitt, Sarah Vanvoltinburg, and Elizabeth Armstrong. Mrs. Armstrong rallied the 40 or so women and children who had taken shelter inside the fort. The women and children were divided into two groups: one to mold rifle balls and another to roll paper cartridges and fill them with a measure of gunpowder into paper cartridges. Some of the married women reload weapons so that the militia could increase the pace of their fire. Courier George Harkleroad was struck in the neck and mortally wounded: the fort's only fatality. Native casualties remain unknown, although some defenders later reported blood on the ground and inside a nearby building.
For some time afterward, the old fort was used by local squatters. The former battlefield and the fort remains were sold in 1847. The new owner re-purposed many of the timbers from the fort to build a livestock barn. What remained was burned. Today, a replica fort was built near the original site in the late 1990s and still stands in the modern Village of Elizabeth, IL. The site is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as "Apple River Fort State Historic Site."
and 21 Related for: Battle of Apple River Fort information
AppleRiverFort, today known as the AppleRiverFort State Historic Site, was one of many frontier forts hastily completed by settlers in northern Illinois...
War of 1812, the Menominee later became allied with the British and Canadians, whom they helped defeat American forces trying to recapture Fort Mackinac...
the first graduate of West Point to be killed in combat, died in this ambush. The incident is referred to as the BattleofFort Dearborn. A Potawatomi...
decisive battleof the Black Hawk War at the mouth of the Bad Axe River. By this time, in August 1832, Black Hawk had surrendered to the custody of the Ho-Chunk...
known as the Battleof Waddams Grove. The second event was on the afternoon of June 24: an intense battle known as the BattleofAppleRiverFort. After the...
treaties, including the Treaty of Vincennes, the Treaty of Grouseland, and the Treaty ofFort Wayne. They sold most of their lands to the United States...
incidents of Sauk Indian raids on settlers along the AppleRiver, Captain James W. Stephenson left Galena with a group of volunteer militia in pursuit of the...
Mesquakie Fort Official Site of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa/Meskwaki Nation – the Meskwaki Official Site of the Sac and Fox Nation (of Oklahoma)...
the fort's original location along the Rock River is marked with a monument. The city built a replica of the fort during the Great Depression of the 1930s...
troops at the Battleof Tippecanoe on November 7, 1811. Waubonsie opposed the attack on Fort Dearborn in 1812, and protected the family of John Kinzie during...
Band at Stillman's Run. The British Band attacked the AppleRiverFort, where a pitched battle was fought resulting in Black Hawk withdrawing his forces...
Stillman's Run. The BattleofAppleRiverFort occurred five days before the Sinsinawa Mound raid; the fight was a 45-minute gun battle between defenders...
and one of seven civil chiefs aligned with Black Hawk's British Band during the Black Hawk War in 1832. Jung, Patrick J. The Black Hawk War of 1832, (Google...
militiamen. The BattleofAppleRiverFort lasted about forty-five minutes. The women and girls inside the fort, under the direction of Elizabeth Armstrong...
the 19th century. Shabbona was born around 1775 of the Odawa (Ottawa) tribe either on the Maumee River in Ohio, in Ontario or in a Native American village...
sits on the site of the Fort, although it is not currently accessible by the public. Attacks at Fort Blue Mounds BattleofAppleRiverFort Birmingham, Robert...
as a captain in the War of 1812. He climbed the ranks of the military, establishing military forts along the Mississippi River and entering the Black Hawk...
President; Character of President Lincoln", The New York Times, May 4, 1865, accessed April 13, 2009. Harmet, A. Richard. "AppleRiverFort Site, (PDF), National...
Global Information
United States