Waddams Grove Investigation

The Battle of Waddams Grove, also known as the Battle of Yellow Creek was part of the Black Hawk War. It took place in present-day Stephenson County, Illinois on June 18, 1832. After several incidents of Sauk Indian raids on settlers along the Apple River, Captain James W. Stephenson left Galena with a group of volunteer militia in pursuit of the Native party. The group clashed on June 18, 1832 near Yellow Creek and the ensuing battle descended into a bayonet and knife fight in which several Sauk and three militia men were killed. Stephenson was severely wounded by a musket ball to the chest during the fighting. The dead were eventually interred in a memorial cemetery in Kellogg's Grove, Illinois where a stone monument was erected in memory of those killed during the war.

Angered by the loss of his birthplace, in prior disputed treaties, Black Hawk led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River beginning in 1830. Each time, he was persuaded to return west without bloodshed. In April 1832, encouraged by promises of alliances with other tribes and the British, he again moved his "British Band," of around 1,000 warriors and civilians, into Illinois. Finding no allies, he attempted to return to Iowa, but ensuing events 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 conflict became known as the Black Hawk War.

Following the first confrontation of the war Stillman's Run, the exaggerated claim that 2,000 "bloodthirsty warriors were sweeping all northern Illinois with the bosom of destruction" sent shock waves of terror through the region. Several small massacres and skirmishes ensued and until the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, fought two days before the clash at Waddams Grove; public confidence in the militia was low.

On June 9, 1832, between two attacks that occurred at Fort Blue Mounds, a party of Native Americans crossed over from the west side of the Mississippi River near Galena. The group continued up the Apple River, looting and stealing horses along the way, including an incident about ž of the way up the Apple River in which about a dozen horses were stolen from a small stockade.The Sauk raiding parties were mostly stealing food and supplies for Black Hawk's band of 1,000 men, women and children which were camped in the marshes of southwestern Wisconsin. A similar incident a few days later, though without injury or death, prompted a reaction from the white militia in the area.

Rising anxiety levels in the white settlers caused Captain James W. Stephenson to gather 12 volunteers and move toward the area of the disturbances from Galena. Stephenson recruited more men at Apple River Fort and then traveled eastward. Stephenson and his men rose before dawn on June 18^th and started following the trail of the band of Sauk who had stolen the horses. The militia marched through pounding rain before they finally caught up with the Sauk.

Stephenson caught up with the band of Native Americans on June 18, 1832 in an open area near Yellow Creek, about 12 miles east of Kellogg's Grove, Illinois. Initially, the militia could not get a clear shot at the Sauk as they rushed for cover in a wooded area near the creek. The militia men observed from what was likely to be West Point Hill.

Shots rang out from Stephenson's men but the Sauk did not immediately return fire and the fight eventually descended into a bayonet and knife battle. The militia charged into the thicket and the Sauk returned fire, killing Stephen P. Howard. The militia force made two more charges into the woods. During one of these, Thomas Sublette stabbed a Sauk in the neck and George Eames was killed in action. The third charge resulted in severe wounds for Stephenson, who was shot in the chest with a musket ball, and the death of militia man Michael Lovell. According to Stephenson's account of the battle, five or six Native American warriors were killed and the militia lost three men.

The Sauk forces outnumbered Stephenson's militiamen and the group was forced to withdraw and retreat. When they left they took with them most of the horses that the Sauk had stolen in their journey up the Apple River.

Although it allowed the militia men to draw Native American blood in revenge, the result of the battle was inconclusive with respect to its original purpose of stopping the Native American raids in the area. The men of the militia returned triumphantly to Galena, Illinois bearing the scalps of two Sauk warriors they had slain. The battle helped raise public opinion towards the militia. After the disastrous defeat at Stillman's Run in May, the battle at Yellow Creek coupled with the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, helped to demonstrate that the militia could stand up to and defeat Black Hawk's warriors.

Captain James W. Stephenson's detachment caught up with the Sauk raiders on June 18, 1832. Stephenson was severely wounded in the encounter.

The militiamen killed in the Battle of Waddams Grove were eventually interred in a memorial cemetery in Kellogg's Grove. The graves are located beneath a large stone monument dedicated to those militia men killed during the Black Hawk War. The battlefield itself is believed to be located along the Yellow Creek northwest of William Waddams' original land claims north of the present day unincorporated town of Waddams Grove, Illinois.

In 1934, the current marker was placed here to commemorate Waddams settlement.

Address: Stephenson County, Waddams Grove, IL 61048

GPS: Coordinates: 42°25′03″N 89°53′03″W

Hauntings: There have been no documented or reported incidents of paranormal activity here at this location. Since there was a battle of sorts here, it is always possible that someone still might linger at a place of tragedy due to untimely or violent deaths

The GRS investigated Waddams Grove on June 19, 2021 and the team included: Kathie Para, Marge Sucha, Greg Kos, Mike Wright, Ronald Lovatt and Dale Kaczmarek with help from Dan Norvell and Larry Eissler from the Dan Norvell Project.

Equipment setup: Only hand-held equipment was used; digital recorders, Nanocom device, dowsing rods and digital cameras, camcorders and cell phones.

Experiments performed: a single EVP session was conducted using the Nanocom device and dowsing rods were deployed by Norvell.

Personal experiences:

Greg Kos: GRS Team was Dale Ron Kathie Mike Barbara and I. The equipment I was using at both sites was a KD Stafford Nanocom S Spirit Box and an EDI+. I did not hear any words clearly at the monument and activity was very slow. Dan Norvell pulled out his Dowsing Rods and started getting responses right away. I was standing a little back of him and to his side and Dan asked to point the rods at me and they swung to my direction. That was the only activity I experienced. There was a brief period of EMF Alert on my EDI+

Ron Lovatt: We joined together with Dan and Larry from the Dan Norvell Project to investigate two other locations where the Blackhawk wars took place on Illinois.

The first location was Waddams Grove. An EVP session did not get any real evidence and the Melmeter we used did not go off.

The second location was Kelloggs Grove. We did an EVP session but did not get much most of the communication was between the spirits and not with us. We also did a few Estes Method sessions and did dowsing rod sessions but there was not much evidence gathered in either location.

I'm sure there is some kind of action at both locations there was just not enough evidence to convince me that either location is truly haunted.

Marge Sucha: Equipment I used: Digital recorder, Spectrum Camera

We had beautiful weather that day which was a plus since our investigations were outdoors. At Waddams Grove we did a couple EVP sessions and did get some interesting responses.

Mike Wright: This was a little memorial on the side of the road which marked where a cabin once stood. I was there with Greg, Marge, Kathie, Ron, Dale and Dan's Group. The only equipment I used was the Ovilus and K-II but did not pick up anything unusual. I did not use any recorders because of the background noises.

Dale Kaczmarek: A stone marker located at the edge of farmland and two crossroads is where we conducted our experiments for the Waddams Grove site. It was a very hot and humid day and very sunny. The group spread out on the grass and began our EVP session. Kos was using a Nanocom device which very quickly sweeps through the AM/FM bands much like a Ghost Box would.

There was some wind contamination and a few people talking in the background. The device was somewhat hard to make out any voices but two direct responses did come through that specifically answered questions that were posed. I was having a difficult time starting up the Phasma Box, so it wasnt deployed at this location.

This seemed to be a very peaceful location with little in the way of any communication from the other side.

Evidence collected:

Joe Waddams.MP4 while conducting an EVP session using the Nanocom device, a question was asked, It there anyone here that wants to communicate with us? Can you tell us your first name? The device responded immediately with, Joe.

Sauk Waddams.MP4 while conducting an EVP session using the Nanocom device, a question was asked, Are you militia or Sauk? The device responded with, Sauk.

Conclusions: Even though there was bloodshed here during the Blackhawk War, there wasnt much indication of spirit activity here. Only one communication device was used due to some technical difficulties but we did receive two direct, intelligent responses of questions asked.

It was an extremely hot day and we didnt want to spend much time here in the blazing heat so we moved on to our next location, also associated with the Blackhawk War, Kelloggs Grove. There was a lot of shade and more room to move about.

I believe that if a prolonged EVP session with multiple devices was conducted, we could have recorded some interaction between some of those who fell here and us. I think that we should consider revisiting this location sometime in the future if we happen to be in the neighborhood again.