Attack at Ament's Cabin

What happened at Ament's Cabin unfolded during the Black Hawk War, taking place on either the seventeenth or eighteenth of June, 1832. Located in what is now Bureau County, Illinois, the cabin had first been claimed in 1829 by John L. Ament and his brother, though the brother's share soon passed to Elijah Phillips through a buyout. Once conflict erupted in 1832, Ament and Phillips fled the property, only to venture back afterward in hopes of retrieving personal items left behind.

It was during this return trip, on the morning of either June 17 or 18, that a war party of Potawatomi warriors, under the leadership of Mike Girty, struck at the men. This group is thought to have been among those involved in the earlier Indian Creek massacre that May. Phillips lost his life in the assault, while the remaining men managed to reach safety inside Ament's cabin.

Troops stationed at Hennepin reached the scene once the fighting had ended, discovering Phillips lying where he had fallen, his body severely mutilated by tomahawk wounds. The soldiers pursued the attackers briefly before abandoning the chase, ultimately making their way back to Hennepin, Illinois, carrying Phillips' remains with them.

Attack

On the following dawn, whether it fell on June 17 or the 18th, roughly thirty Native Americans crept back to the spots where they had concealed themselves the day before, waiting patiently for the settlers to stir. Brigham and Phillips stepped out onto Ament's porch once the household awoke, exchanging a few words there without ever glancing down at the moccasin prints scattered across the yard. Phillips then set off for his own cabin, situated about half a mile away, meaning to finish writing a letter home to his parents. Brigham started to follow him but paused to duck into his cabin first, and no sooner was he inside than gunfire erupted from outside. Two musket balls tore into Phillips, dropping him where he stood, and the warriors rushed forward at once, tomahawks raised.

Meanwhile the remaining settlers dashed for cover inside the cabin just as the attackers closed in around it. They barred the entrance and pressed the muzzles of their guns through gaps in the log walls. A pair of men held their ground right at the doorway, and at one point Hodges' gun barrel struck Girty square in the chest, sending him and his companions scrambling back toward the trees. Young Dimmick, terrified and pleading to be allowed to flee, was chosen to ride for aid at Hennepin. Those left behind fully expected him to be cut down the moment he broke from cover, yet he made it across the open prairie without a scratch. He covered sixteen miles before reaching Hennepin, where he brought word of what had happened.

Aftermath

When word of what Dimmick had witnessed reached the townsfolk of Hennepin, it went over badly, stirring widespread fear among residents who became certain that the whole of Black Hawk's British Band stood ready to descend upon them. Two companies of Rangers happened to be stationed in Hennepin that day, and word spread among them asking for men willing to go to the aid of those at Ament's cabin. A group answered the call, though not every man was eager to make the trip, and somewhere between 30 and 70 of them set out toward the cabin.

Upon reaching the site, the Rangers discovered Ament and his companions unharmed, having sealed themselves inside the structure. Ament had thrust a white flag up through the roof to alert the approaching soldiers to their presence. Beyond the cabin walls lay Phillips, his body untouched since the moment he fell, stretched out in the dooryard with his face turned skyward. A bullet had passed through the left side of his chest and another through his stomach. He bore heavy tomahawk wounds as well, with gashes cutting across one eye and his throat, though his scalp remained intact. A small party of Rangers broke off to chase after those responsible, but they abandoned the pursuit before long and carried Phillips's body back to Hennepin. His funeral followed the next day, drawing both townspeople and soldiers to pay their respects.