Battle of Waddams Grove
Battle of Waddams Grove
The Battle of Waddams Grove, also known as the Battle of Yellow Creek, happened on June 18, 1832, in what is now Stephenson County, Illinois, near Waddams Grove. It was part of the Black Hawk War between the United States and the Sauk.
After Sauk raiders attacked settlers along the Apple River, Captain James W. Stephenson gathered about a dozen volunteers from Galena and Apple River Fort and chased the raiders eastward. On June 18 they caught up with the Sauk near Yellow Creek, about 12 miles east of Kellogg’s Grove.
The battle began as the Sauk tried to take cover in the woods. It turned into a brutal bayonet and knife fight. Three militiamen were killed—Stephen P. Howard, George Eames, and Michael Lovell—and Captain Stephenson was wounded when a musket ball struck him in the chest. The Sauk reportedly had five or six killed.
The militiamen pressed their attack but were outnumbered and forced to withdraw, taking with them many of the horses the Sauk had stolen on the Apple River journey. The fight did not stop the raids, but it helped boost public support for the militia and showed they could stand up to Black Hawk’s warriors. The dead from the battle were buried at Kellogg’s Grove, where a stone monument now marks their memory.
The battlefield is believed to lie along Yellow Creek, northwest of William Waddams’ original land claims, near present-day Waddams Grove, Illinois.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:33 (CET).