Rock Island

Lt. John Campbell commanded an expedition consisting of three armed keel boats up the Mississippi River. After staying at Four-Mile Camp, the boats were forced ashore by high winds where they were attacked by a pursuing force of Sauk and Fox Native Americans led by Black Hawk. American forces sustained significant casualties while trying to free the boats and retreat downriver.

Campbell's expedition was intended to reinforce the small American garrison at Fort Shelby, located at Prairie du Chein, Wisconsin. Prairie du Chien was an important trading post and had been captured by the Americans less than two months before Campbell's departure from St. Louis.