April 5, 1832, Black Hawk and around 1,000 warriors and civilians recrossed the Mississippi River into Illinois. About half of Black Hawk's band were combatants and the rest were a combination of women, children, and elderly. The band consisted of Sauk, Fox, some Potawatomi, and some Kickapoo; in addition some members of the Ho-Chunk nation were sympathetic to Black Hawk. Black Hawk's reason for crossing into Illinois is disputed. It has long been believed that he wanted to reclaim lost territory and, perhaps, create a confederacy of Native Americans to stand against white settlement. However, modern historians have questioned this and indicated that Black Hawk may have been trying to resettle among the Ho-Chunk and point to the large number of non-combatants that accompanied Black Hawk's supposed war party. Other Illinois tribes promised aid to the British Band and Black Hawk believed that he had been promised assistance by the British in Canada. Black Hawk led the march of the group along the Rock River into Illinois. Illinois Governor John Reynolds perceived the return of Black Hawk as an invasion, and he immediately called up the militia. General Henry Atkinson, whom Black Hawk addressed as "White Beaver," commanded the military expedition. Prelude Atkinson was not told about Governor Reynolds' decision to order Major Isaiah Stillman's militia to march on Old Man's Creek, despite being in overall command. Reynolds' orders, issued on his behalf by General Samuel Whiteside to Stillman, were for Stillman to find Black Hawk and coerce him into submission. Following these orders, Stillman moved on Old Mans Creek. Whiteside had refused to accept Stillman's battalion under his command, thus leaving it "orphaned" and under the direct command of Governor Reynolds. The militia commanded by Whiteside grew restless as they awaited the arrival of Atkinson and his Army regulars; many of the volunteer militia wanted to quit the war and head back home. When diplomacy failed to persuade Black Hawk to take his band back west to Iowa, Stillman and Bailey's battalions of Illinois Militia were marched up the Rock River. Prior to the battle at Stillman's Run, Black Hawk's grand vision of British support and a Native American confederacy had collapsed. No significant parties aided him and his followers. The British Band started to weaken with hunger, and Black Hawk soon realized that the only option was to return across the Mississippi River. When he detected the U.S.