Buffalo Grove ambush

Buffalo Grove ambush
Part of the Black Hawk War

Historical marker located west of Polo, Illinois
DateMay 19, 1832
Location
Result Kickapoo victory
Belligerents
 United States Kickapoo warriors
Commanders and leaders
Henry Atkinson
James M. Strode
Strength
6 Not known
Casualties and losses
1 Not known

The Buffalo Grove ambush was an ambush that occurred on May 19, 1832 as part of the Black Hawk War. A six-man detail carrying dispatches from United States Colonel James M. Strode at Galena, Illinois to General Henry Atkinson at Dixon's Ferry was ambushed by Native Americans during the attack. William Durley was killed and buried near the site of the ambush. Durley's remains were initially interred by the party that would become victims of the St. Vrain massacre. Two other men had bullet holes in their clothing, but were uninjured. In 1910 the Polo Historical Society moved Durley's remains to a plot beneath a memorial they erected west of Polo, Illinois.