The Attack at Ament's Cabin was an event during the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

that occurred on 17 or June 18, 1832. The cabin site, in present-day

Bureau County, Illinois Bureau County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 34,978. Its county seat is Princeton. Bureau County is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, and the Hennep ...

, 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 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 reach ...

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 A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...

body where he had fallen. They set off in a short pursuit of the attackers but eventually returned to

Hennepin, Illinois Hennepin is a village located on the Illinois River in Putnam County, Illinois, United States. The population was 757 in 2010, an increase of 50 since the 2000 census. It is the county seat and second largest village in Putnam County. Hennepin is ...

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 Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and Dover Townships, in present-day

. Shortly after settling, Elijah Phillips bought Justin Ament's land and built his own cabin.''Past and Present of Bureau County, Illinois'',
History of Berlin
" Pioneer Publishing, Chicago: 1906, p. 118. Retrieved 4 October 2007. 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 A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a congressional act that President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, ...

and a group of Sauk and

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

leaders regarding land settlement, the Sauk and Fox tribes vacated their lands in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and moved west of the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

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 The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

, but was persuaded to return west each time without bloodshed. In April 1832, encouraged by promises of alliance with other tribes and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, he again moved his so-called "British Band" of around 1,000 warriors and non-combatants into Illinois.Lewis, James.
The Black Hawk War of 1832
," Abraham Lincoln Digitization Project, ''Northern Illinois University''. Retrieved August 1, 2007. Finding no allies, he attempted to return to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, but the undisciplined Illinois militia's actions led to the

Battle of Stillman's Run The Battle of Stillman's Run, also known as the Battle of Sycamore Creek or the Battle of Old Man's Creek, occurred in Illinois on May 14, 1832. The battle was named for the panicked retreat by Major Isaiah Stillman and his detachment of 275 I ...

.May 14: Black Hawk's Victory at the Battle of Stillman's Run
," Historic Diaries: The Black Hawk War, ''Wisconsin State Historical Society''. Retrieved 6 August 2007. 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 Shabbona (or Sha-bon-na), also known as ShaboneeBureau 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

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 Putnam County is the least extensive county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 6,006. The county seat is Hennepin. The county was formed in 1825 out of Fulton County and named after Israel Putn ...

– 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

and the murder of a minister, Adam Payne, on the road to Ottawa.Armstrong, Perry A. ''The Sauks and the Black Hawk War''
Google Books
, H.W. Rokker: 1887, pp. 399–403. Retrieved 4 October 2007. 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.Matson, Nehemiah. ''Memories of Shaubena'',
Google Books
, D.B. Cooke & Co.: 1878, pp. 226–34. Retrieved 4 October 2007.

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 A moccasin is a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole (made with leather that has not been "worked") and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional panel o ...

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.Matson, Nehemiah.
Killing of Phillips
" ''Map & Sketches of Bureau County, ILL'', via Tampico Historical Society, p. 22. Retrieved 4 October 2007. 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 Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

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 White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

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.

References

{{Black Hawk War (1832) Bureau County, Illinois Ament's Cabins 1832 in Illinois June 1832 events