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.

However, Sauk Chief Black Hawk and others disputed the treaty, claiming that the full tribal councils had not been consulted, nor did those representing the tribes have authorization to cede lands.

[1] Angered by the loss of his birthplace, between 1830–31 Black Hawk led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River, but was persuaded to return west each time without bloodshed.

[1] Finding no allies, he attempted to return across the Mississippi (to modern Iowa), but ensuing events led to the Battle of Stillman's Run.

After Stillman's Run, an ambush at Buffalo Grove killed one militia member two days before the raid on the Plum River settlement.

[3] 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.

Left to defend the impromptu fortifications were Aaron Pierce, Vance Davidson, Robert Upton, William Blundell, Leonard Goss and a man known as Hays.

[4] On June 1, then-Colonel Zachary Taylor expressed his concerns about recent events, including the Plum River raid in a letter to General Henry Atkinson.