Wisconsin Historical Collections, Volume X (1888)

              156 wisconsin state historical society rainy and our tents quite unfit for service and useless as a shelter about the 9th day of may provisions and boats having been collected a force of nearly eighteen hundred militia arrived fifteen hundred of whom were mounted who had been ordered by gov reynolds to report themselves to and receive orders from the commanding officer of the regular troops our force moved up rock river — the regular troops were then under the immediate command of col tay lor first infantry and the mounted militia under brig gen whiteside gov reynolds also accompanied his force in person the mounted men were ordered to proceed to the prophet's village about thirty or forty miles by land and sixty or seventy by water while the regular force was charged with the severe and unpleasant duty of dragging up the river our provisions and stores in boats one keel of ninety tons and one of thirty and five or six mackinaw boats it is unnecessary to describe this duty better than to say that the weather was cold and that for many days the troops so employed had not a dry thread on them com pelled to wade against a rapid stream dragging or lifting the boats along from day-break until night on our arrival at the prophet's village it was found that the mounted militia had advanced to dixon's ferry about thirty miles below the last named point an express informed our com mand of the defeat of a battalion of the militia under maj stillman and the troops were hastened forward with all pos sible dispatch at dixon's ferry about one hundred and twenty mils from the mouth of rock river we learned the particulars of this defeat maj stillman commanding a volunteer battalion of illinois militia at his own solicitation had been dispatched by gov reynolds to endeavor to ascertain the position of the indians deceived by some individuals who assured him that they had reconnoitered the country for forty-five miles above whiteside's camp and that there were no in dians within that distance stillman encamped an hour before sunset twenty-five miles from dixon's in a well chosen position on a stream since called stillman's run