the settlement at the mouth of the plum river was established in 1827 when copper was discovered near the mississippi river. when the black hawk war erupted in 1832, the settlement at plum river consisted of 25 people. when the settlers were informed of black hawk's invasion they were undecided about whether or not to abandon their homes for safer grounds in galena, illinois. in the end, while nearby towns such as hanover emptied of their residents, the citizens at plum river decided to send the women and children to galena and leave the men to stick it out on the frontier. they partially disassembled two of the settlement's homes and constructed a blockhouse for protection. left to defend the impromptu fortifications were aaron pierce, vance davidson, robert upton, william blundell, leonard goss and a man known as hays. on may 19 another group of militia volunteers were ambushed at buffalo grove and two days later the more famous indian creek massacre occurred (on the same day as the raid at plum river).