The centre of alarm was in the Rock Valley, in the northern part of the State, which had been formerly the home of the Sac tribe of Indians.

Discontented with their life on the reservation west of the Mississippi, to which they had been removed, the Sacs, with several other tribes, resolved to recover their old hunting-grounds.

The warlike chief, Black Hawk, was at the head of the revolt, and his march toward the Rock river was signalized by a number of massacres.

Governor Reynolds of Illinois issued a proclamation calling for volunteers to aid the regular troops in the emergency.
Lincoln was one of the first to answer the call, the brave "Clary Grove Boys" also coming promptly to the rescue.

"The volunteers gathered," writes Mr.Arnold, "at Rushville, in Schuyler County, at which place they were to be organized, and elected officers.