Peoria, 1832
This image depicts the Illinois River community of Peoria in 1832. In this year the Illinois State Militia and United States Army troops combined to drive Sac and Fox Indians under the leadership of Chief Black Hawk from northern Illinois and to their bloody defeat on the banks of the Mississippi River in western Wisconsin. This conflict opened up western and northern Illinois, which remained largely unsettled due to fear of Indians, to white settlement. Note the artist's acknowledgement of Native Americans' continuing presence in the region. Several are prominently featured in the foreground, observing the growth of white settlement across the Illinois River in Peoria.
Image source: Chicago Historical Society
©Copyright 2002 Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project