On June 14, 1832 five men were attacked by a Kickapoo war party, three whites were killed instantly, including Spafford.

However, Sauk 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 land.

[1] Angered by the loss of his birthplace, Black Hawk led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River beginning in 1830.

[1] Finding no allies, he attempted to return to Iowa, but events overtook him and led to the Battle of Stillman's Run.

[2] A number of other engagements followed, and the state militias of Wisconsin and Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk's band.

On May 19, a group of militia volunteers were ambushed at Buffalo Grove and the same day as the raid at Plum River, May 21, a more famous war event, the Indian Creek massacre, occurred.

[6][9] Word of the attack at Spafford's farm spread quickly to Fort Defiance, about five miles southeast of Mineral Point.

A small volunteer force of 13 men was assembled at Fort Defiance and they set off to hunt down the band of Native Americans responsible for the massacre.

[6] On the morning of June 15, survivor Bennett Million guided the militia volunteers back to the site of the massacre.

[7] Colonel Henry Dodge was at Gratiot's Grove when the war descended upon Spafford Farm, having just sent his volunteers to their forts to resupply and recuperate.