as noted above, and said leaders had signed it without full tribal authorization. Angered by the loss of his birthplace, between 1830 and 1831 Black Hawk led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River to Illinois. He was persuaded to return west each time without bloodshed. In April 1832, encouraged by promises of alliance with other tribes and with Britain, he moved his so-called "British Band" of more than 1500 people, both warriors and non-combatants, into Illinois. Finding no allies, he tried to return to Iowa, but the undisciplined Illinois militia provoked open attack at the Battle of Stillman's Run. A number of other violent engagements followed. The governors of Michigan Territory and Illinois mobilized their militias to hunt down Black Hawk's Band. These actions led to the last Native American War fought on the east side of the Mississippi River. The conflict became known as the Black Hawk War. When Black Hawk entered Illinois in April, his British Band was composed of about 500 warriors and 1,000 old men, women, and children. The group included members of the Sauk, Fox and Kickapoo tribes. They crossed the river near the mouth of the Iowa River and followed the Rock River northeast. Along the way, they passed the ruins of Saukenuk and headed for the village of Ho-Chunk prophet White Cloud. As the war progressed, factions of other tribes joined, or tried to join Black Hawk. Other Native Americans and settlers carried out acts of violence for personal reasons amidst the chaos of the war. In one example, a band of hostile Ho-Chunk intent on joining Black Hawk's Band attacked and killed the party of Felix St. Vrain in what Americans knew as the St. Vrain massacre. This act was an exception as most Ho-Chunk sided with the U.S. during the Black Hawk War; the warriors who attacked St. Vrain's party had acted independently of the Ho-Chunk nation. From April to August, Potawatomi warriors also joined with Black Hawk's Band. The war stretched from April to August 1832, with a number of battles, skirmishes and massacres on both sides. Black Hawk led his men in another conflict, the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. Afterward, the Illinois and Michigan Territory militias caught up with Black Hawk's "British Band" for the final confrontation at Bad Axe. At the mouth of the Bad Axe River, pursuing soldiers, their Indian allies, and a U.S. gunboat