the plum river raid was a bloodless skirmish that occurred at present-day savanna, illinois, on may 21, 1832, as part of the black hawk war. most of the settlement's inhabitants, except for a few defenders, had fled for galena, illinois, before the raid happened. a small band of native americans, either sauk or fox, attacked the settlement while only three of the six defenders were present. the men who were present fell back to the blockhouse and a firefight ensued for about one hour, after which the attackers withdrew. no one was killed or injured during the attack, but in its aftermath colonel james m. strode dispatched a detachment of militia to savanna. they returned to galena without incident and the settlement at savanna was temporarily abandoned.