Spafford Farm massacre

Spafford Farm Massacre
Part of the Black Hawk War
Monument near South Wayne, Wisconsin.
Date June 14, 1832 Location Near present day South Wayne, Wisconsin Result British Band victory
Belligerents
United States	Kickapoo; those aligned with Black Hawk's British Band
Strength
6	unknown
Casualties and losses
4 killed	1 killed

The Spafford Farm massacre, also referred to as the Wayne massacre, was an attack upon U.S. militia and civilians that occurred as part of the Black Hawk War near present-day South Wayne, Wisconsin. Spafford Farm was settled in 1830 by Omri Spafford and his partner Francis Spencer.

Before the war started they made numerous improvements to the parcel of land. On June 14, 1832 five men were attacked by a Kickapoo war party, three whites were killed instantly, including Spafford. In total at least one Native and four white settlers were killed in the action. Two men managed to escape. One mistakenly feared for days that Fort Hamilton had been captured, before finally seeking refuge there. The incident at Spafford Farm eventually led to the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (also known as the Battle of Pecatonica).

As a consequence of an 1804 treaty between the Governor of Indiana Territory and a group of Sauk and Fox leaders regarding land settlement, in 1828 the Sauk and Fox tribes vacated their lands in Illinois and moved west of the Mississippi River. However, Sauk 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 land. Angered by the loss of his birthplace, Black Hawk led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River beginning in 1830. Each time, he was persuaded without bloodshed to return west. In April 1832, encouraged by promises of alliance with other tribes and the British, he again moved his so-called "British Band" of around 1,000 warriors and civilians into Illinois. Finding no allies, he attempted to return to Iowa, but events overtook him and led to the Battle of Stillman's Run. A number of other engagements followed, and the state militias of Wisconsin and Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk's band. The ensuing conflict became known as the Black Hawk War. On May 19, a group of militia volunteers were ambushed at Buffalo Grove and the same day as the raid at Plum River, May 21, a more famous war event, the Indian Creek massacre, occurred. The Indian Creek event, considered mostly a peripheral event to the Black Hawk War, was followed on by more violence preceding the attack at Spafford Farm.

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