The Wood River Massacre
Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
The most startling and cruel atrocity
committed by the Indians within the bounds of Madison County was
the Wood River massacre, on July 10, 1814, that resulted in the
death of one woman and six children. This tragedy took place in
the forks of the Wood River, east of Upper Alton. The victims
were the wife and two children of Reason Reagan, two children of
Abel Moore, and two children of William Moore.
At the
beginning of the War of 1812-14, citizens of Madison County who
lived at exposed locations on the frontier sought refuge in the
forts and blockhouses. When no Indians made their appearance,
and the Rangers were constantly on the alert, people began to
feel secure. In the summer of 1814, people returned to their
farms and dwellings. There were six or eight families residing
at that time in the forks of the Wood River. At the residence of
George Moore on the east branch of the Wood River, a blockhouse
had been built to which the people could flee should danger
arrive.
July
10, 1814 began as a pleasant Sunday. William Moore was on duty
at Fort Butler near St. Jacob, and Abel Moore had gone to Fort
Russell for the day. Rachel Reagan and her two children spent
the day with her sister, Mrs. William Moore. Rachel’s husband,
Reason Reagan, had gone three miles away to the Wood River
Baptist Church on Vaughn Hill. Also at the Moore home was Miss
Hannah Bates, sister of Abel Moore’s wife. The time was spent
peacefully while the women talked and the children played games.
Later in the afternoon they all went to the Abel Moore home. As
preparation began for the evening meal, Rachel, who was in
advanced stage of pregnancy, decided she would go back home and
pick some beans that would be added to the evening mean.
Rachel’s two children, two sons of William Moore, and two sons
of Abel Moore accompanied her. Hannah Bates went along, but for
some reason decided to turn back to the Moore house. Some say
she had a premonition. Others say her shoes did not fit well and
hurt her feet. Regardless, that decision saved her life.
Two days before, Reason Reagan and his brother-in-law, Samuel
Thomas, had gone to a deer lick [spot of ground where deer
assemble, due to natural salt in the ground] about ten miles
west of the settlement [this would have placed the deer lick in
Jersey County, north of Lockhaven], and camped there for the
night. It was later ascertained that a company of eleven Indians
had been three miles distant [near Dow], and the next morning
found the abandoned camp of Thomas and Reagan. The Indians
determined the group was a small one, and decided to follow
their tracks eastward.
The Indians may have reached the
empty Reagan cabin first. They continued on the trail eastward,
towards Abel Moore’s home, as Rachel and the children approached
from the east. It was on this trail that Rachel and the children
met their untimely death. They were stripped of their clothing,
bludgeoned with a tomahawk, and scalped.
William Moore,
having returned that day to look after the women and children at
home, became alarmed as night approached and the children had
not returned. He first went to his brother, Abel Moore’s place,
to see if they were there. His wife, who was Mrs. Reagan’s
sister, also started on horseback to look for them, taking a
different route from her husband. Mrs. Moore chose to go through
the woods, and William walked along the wagon path. Mrs. William
Moore found the children lying by the road, and at first thought
they had laid down to sleep. It was nighttime, and there was
little light to see by. She called their names, but they did not
answer. She got down from her horse, and it was then she
discovered the lifeless bodies in the darkness. She placed her
hand on the shoulder of the naked corpse of Mrs. Reagan. On
further examination, she could feel the flesh from which the
scalp had been torn. She looked over and could see the figure of
the little child of Mrs. Reagan’s sitting so near the body of
its mother as to lean its head toward its mother. The little one
said, “The black man raised his axe and cutted them again.” She
picked up the youngest child, and then heard a noise. Alarmed,
she grabbed the boy, Timothy, and sprang on her horse and rode
away, thinking she would be the next victim. The wounded child
died the next day.
Unknown to Mrs. Moore, her husband,
William, had also found the bodies. He had returned to Abel
Moore’s home, telling that someone had been killed by Indians.
He could not see in the dark who it was. Thinking the Indians
were having an uprising, he wanted to warn the others and get
them to safety. From Abel’s house he took Abel’s wife and her
remaining children, along with Hannah Bates, and they headed to
William Moore’s house, with the plan of going on to the
blockhouse at Fort Wood River, where they would be safer.
Approaching his home, he saw the horse which his wife had
ridden. “Thank God, Polly is not killed,” he said. His wife came
running out, exclaiming, “They are killed by the Indians, I
expect!” The whole party then departed for the blockhouse, and
waited for daybreak.
At dawn a search for Rachel and the
six children was held. They gathered their loved ones for
burial. Mr. Solomon Preuitt assisted in the burial of the
victims. He hauled them on a small one-horse sled to the burying
ground on Vaughn Hill. [Note: Vaughn Hill Cemetery, about 4
miles “as the crow flies” from Abel Moore’s home, was
established by the Wood River Baptist Church - presumably where
Reason Reagan was at the time of the massacre.] The graves were
dug and lined with slabs split from trees nearby, as nearly like
planks as possible, and the bodies were covered with more
planks. The seven were buried in three graves: Mrs. Reagan and
her two children, Elizabeth and Timothy, in one grave; Captain
Moore’s children, William and Joel, in another; and William
Moore’s two children, John and George, in the third. A stone
slab marked their resting place. Also buried in the Vaughn Hill
Cemetery is an Indian girl who was captured by Abraham Preuitt
during one of the campaigns in the War of 1812. Preuitt,
pursuing Indian into the Winnebago Swamps, heard firing in the
distance and went to investigate. He found Davis Carter and
another man firing at the little Indian child, six years old,
who was mired and could not get out. He called the man cowards,
and ordered them to cease firing at a helpless child. Preuitt
went into the swamp and rescued the child, and brought it home
with him. She lived to the age of fifteen. It was stated that
she was always of a wild nature.
A young man by the name
of John Harris, living at Able Moore’s home, traveled on
horseback bearing the alarming news to Fort Russell. Leaving the
Fort about 1:00AM, seventy rangers arrived at Abel Moore’s about
sunrise, and proceeded to the scene of the tragedy. News soon
spread, and it was not long before Captain Whiteside and nine
others gave pursuit of the Indians. Among them were Reasan
Reagan, James
Preuitt, Abraham Preuitt, William and John Sample, James
Stockden, William Montgomery, and Peter Waggoner. When the
Indians learned they were being pursued, the frequently bled
themselves to facilitate their speed and give them greater
endurance. The weather was hot, and some of the rangers’ horses
gave out. Others kept going. On the evening of the second day,
between sunset and dark, they came within sight of the Indians
at a stream entering the Sangamon River, about 70 miles in
Morgan County. This site was later named Indian Creek to
remember what took place there.
On the ridge was a lone
cottonwood tree. Several Indians climbed the tree and saw their
pursuers. They separated and went in different directions. James
and Abraham Pruitt, taking the trail of one of the Indians,
overtook him and shot him in the thigh. He fell, but managed to
climb a tree. Abraham then shot again and killed him. In the
Indian’s pouch was the scalp of Mrs. Reagan. Reason Regan lost
his life in the pursuit of the Indians. He was either buried
where he died, or in the Vaughn Hill Cemetery. The remaining
Indians hid in the woods, near where Virden now stands, about 44
miles north of the scene of the murder. It was learned later
that only one Indian escaped, and that was the Chief who led the
party.
Today there stands a monument, dedicated in 1910,
in memory of those killed in the massacre. It is located on
Fosterburg Road, east of Upper Alton, in front of the Hilltop
Auction and Banquet Center. The massacre took place 300 yards
behind the monument, and about one mile from the Abel Moore
home.
