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class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Banditti activity</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Banditti_activity-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Banditti activity subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Banditti_activity-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Ogle_County" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Ogle_County"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Ogle County</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Ogle_County-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Execution" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Execution"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1.1</span> <span>Execution</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Execution-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Other_Banditti_activity" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Other_Banditti_activity"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Other Banditti activity</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Other_Banditti_activity-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown 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Click here for more information." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/19px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png" decoding="async" width="19" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/29px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/39px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></a></span></div></div> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Group of loose-knit outlaw gangs, during the early-mid-19th century</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Banditti_of_the_Plains" title="Banditti of the Plains">Banditti of the Plains</a>.</div> <div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Criminal organization</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox"><caption class="infobox-title">Banditti of the Prairie</caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_At_Mother_Long%27s.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_At_Mother_Long%27s.png/250px-Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_At_Mother_Long%27s.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="300" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_At_Mother_Long%27s.png/375px-Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_At_Mother_Long%27s.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_At_Mother_Long%27s.png/500px-Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_At_Mother_Long%27s.png 2x" data-file-width="511" data-file-height="613" /></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">An illustration of <a href="/wiki/Edward_Bonney" title="Edward Bonney">Edward Bonney</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Bounty_hunter" title="Bounty hunter">bounty hunter</a> and amateur <a href="/wiki/Detective" title="Detective">detective</a> who in 1845 posed as a <a href="/wiki/Counterfeit_money" title="Counterfeit money">counterfeiter</a> (who ironically had been arrested for counterfeiting himself a few years earlier) to infiltrate a faction of the "Banditti of the Prairie" and track down the infamous murderers of Colonel <a href="/wiki/George_Davenport" title="George Davenport">George Davenport</a>: Bonney wrote the 1850 book <i>The Banditti of the Prairies: or, The murderer's doom, a tale of Mississippi Valley and the Far West</i></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Years active</th><td class="infobox-data">1830s-1850</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Territory</th><td class="infobox-data">Primarily, <a href="/wiki/Lee_County,_Illinois" title="Lee County, Illinois">Lee</a>, <a href="/wiki/DeKalb_County,_Illinois" title="DeKalb County, Illinois">DeKalb</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ogle_County,_Illinois" title="Ogle County, Illinois">Ogle</a>, <a href="/wiki/Winnebago_County,_Illinois" title="Winnebago County, Illinois">Winnebago</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rock_Island_County,_Illinois" title="Rock Island County, Illinois">Rock Island</a>, <a href="/wiki/Jo_Daviess_County,_Illinois" title="Jo Daviess County, Illinois">Jo Daviess</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Hancock_County,_Illinois" title="Hancock County, Illinois">Hancock</a> counties, in <a href="/wiki/Illinois" title="Illinois">Illinois</a> as well as the states of <a href="/wiki/Iowa" title="Iowa">Iowa</a>, <a href="/wiki/Indiana" title="Indiana">Indiana</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Ohio" title="Ohio">Ohio</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Ethnicity</th><td class="infobox-data">European-American</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Membership <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r886047488">.mw-parser-output .nobold{font-weight:normal}</style><span class="nobold">(est.)</span></th><td class="infobox-data">?</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Criminal activities</th><td class="infobox-data">house burglary, fencing stolen property, horse and cattle theft, stagecoach and highway robbery, counterfeiting, murder</td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_1850_Title_Page.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_1850_Title_Page.jpg/175px-Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_1850_Title_Page.jpg" decoding="async" width="175" height="300" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_1850_Title_Page.jpg/263px-Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_1850_Title_Page.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_1850_Title_Page.jpg/350px-Banditti_Of_The_Prairies_Bonney_1850_Title_Page.jpg 2x" data-file-width="372" data-file-height="638" /></a><figcaption>Title page of the 1850 first-edition publishing of the <i>Banditti Of The Prairies</i> by <a href="/wiki/Edward_Bonney" title="Edward Bonney">Edward Bonney</a></figcaption></figure> <p>The <b>Banditti of the Prairie,</b> also known as <b>The Banditti</b>, <b>Prairie Pirates</b>, <b>Prairie Bandits</b>, and <b>Pirates of the Prairie</b>, in the U.S. states of <a href="/wiki/Illinois" title="Illinois">Illinois</a>, <a href="/wiki/Indiana" title="Indiana">Indiana</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Ohio" title="Ohio">Ohio</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Territory_of_Iowa" class="mw-redirect" title="Territory of Iowa">Territory of Iowa</a>, were a group of loose-knit <a href="/wiki/Outlaw" title="Outlaw">outlaw</a> gangs, during the early to mid-19th century. Though bands of roving criminals were common in many parts of Illinois, the counties of <a href="/wiki/Lee_County,_Illinois" title="Lee County, Illinois">Lee</a>, <a href="/wiki/DeKalb_County,_Illinois" title="DeKalb County, Illinois">DeKalb</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ogle_County,_Illinois" title="Ogle County, Illinois">Ogle</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Winnebago_County,_Illinois" title="Winnebago County, Illinois">Winnebago</a> were especially plagued by them.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The new crime wave in the region of the frontier Midwest may have occurred following the crackdown on <a href="/wiki/White_Southerners" title="White Southerners">Southern</a> outlaws by the rising vigilante-regulator movement and the breakup of the <a href="/wiki/Crime_syndicate" class="mw-redirect" title="Crime syndicate">criminal syndicate</a> of <a href="/wiki/John_Murrell_(bandit)" title="John Murrell (bandit)">John A. Murrell</a> and his gang, the "Mystic Clan", in the <a href="/wiki/Southern_United_States" title="Southern United States">Southern United States</a>. In 1841, the escalating pattern of house <a href="/wiki/Burglary" title="Burglary">burglary</a>, horse and cattle <a href="/wiki/Theft" title="Theft">theft</a>, <a href="/wiki/Stagecoach" title="Stagecoach">stagecoach</a> and <a href="/wiki/Highway_robbery" class="mw-redirect" title="Highway robbery">highway robbery</a>, <a href="/wiki/Counterfeit_money" title="Counterfeit money">counterfeiting</a> and <a href="/wiki/Murder" title="Murder">murder</a> associated with the Banditti had come to a head in Ogle County. As the crimes continued, local citizens formed bands of <a href="/wiki/Vigilante" class="mw-redirect" title="Vigilante">vigilantes</a> known as Regulators. A clash between the Banditti and the Regulators in Ogle County near <a href="/wiki/Oregon,_Illinois" title="Oregon, Illinois">Oregon, Illinois</a> resulted in the outlaws' demise and decreased Banditti activity and violent crime within the county. </p><p>Banditti and Regulator activity continued well after the lynching that took place in 1841. Crimes continued, committed by both sides, across northern and central Illinois. The Banditti were involved in other notable events, as well, including the 1845 torture-murder of merchant Colonel <a href="/wiki/George_Davenport" title="George Davenport">George Davenport</a>, the namesake of <a href="/wiki/Davenport,_Iowa" title="Davenport, Iowa">Davenport, Iowa</a>. <a href="/wiki/Edward_Bonney" title="Edward Bonney">Edward Bonney</a>, an amateur detective who hunted down and brought to justice the killers, wrote of his exploits and alibi, which were recounted in his book <i>Banditti of the Prairies, or the Murderer's Doom!!: A Tale of the Mississippi Valley,</i> published in <a href="/wiki/Chicago" title="Chicago">Chicago</a> in 1850. The outlaw gangs also continued to be active in Lee and Winnebago Counties following the events in Oregon. </p> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Governor_Thomas_Ford.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Governor_Thomas_Ford.jpg/175px-Governor_Thomas_Ford.jpg" decoding="async" width="175" height="264" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Governor_Thomas_Ford.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="248" data-file-height="374" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Governor_of_Illinois" title="Governor of Illinois">Illinois Governor</a> <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Ford_(politician)" title="Thomas Ford (politician)">Thomas Ford</a> as a younger man was instrumental in helping to destroy the dominating influence of the Banditti of the Prairie in <a href="/wiki/Ogle_County,_Illinois" title="Ogle County, Illinois">Ogle County, Illinois</a></figcaption></figure> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Banditti_Sign,_IL_01.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_01.JPG/250px-Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_01.JPG" decoding="async" width="250" height="167" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_01.JPG/375px-Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_01.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_01.JPG/500px-Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_01.JPG 2x" data-file-width="3456" data-file-height="2304" /></a><figcaption><i>The Regulators and the Banditti</i>, an Illinois state historical marker documenting Regulator vigilante activities in driving out an Ogle County, Illinois, faction of the Banditti of the Prairie, along the <a href="/wiki/Rock_River_(Mississippi_River)" class="mw-redirect" title="Rock River (Mississippi River)">Rock River</a>, near <a href="/wiki/Byron,_Illinois" title="Byron, Illinois">Byron, Illinois</a>, on <a href="/wiki/Illinois_Route_2" title="Illinois Route 2">state highway, Route 2</a></figcaption></figure> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Banditti_Sign,_IL_05.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_05.JPG/250px-Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_05.JPG" decoding="async" width="250" height="188" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_05.JPG/375px-Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_05.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_05.JPG/500px-Banditti_Sign%2C_IL_05.JPG 2x" data-file-width="2048" data-file-height="1536" /></a><figcaption><i>Mob Trial and Execution</i>, an Illinois historical marker near the mob lynching site where the Banditti "prairie pirates", father and son John and William Driscoll of the Driscoll gang, were tried by an illegal Regulator court of 500 concerned citizens for murder and shot to death by a firing squad of 111 men</figcaption></figure> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Banditti_Rock,_IL_02.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Banditti_Rock%2C_IL_02.JPG/250px-Banditti_Rock%2C_IL_02.JPG" decoding="async" width="250" height="167" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Banditti_Rock%2C_IL_02.JPG/375px-Banditti_Rock%2C_IL_02.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Banditti_Rock%2C_IL_02.JPG/500px-Banditti_Rock%2C_IL_02.JPG 2x" data-file-width="3456" data-file-height="2304" /></a><figcaption>A rock slab marker of the approximate location of the <a href="/wiki/Vigilante" class="mw-redirect" title="Vigilante">Regulator</a> <a href="/wiki/Execution_by_firing_squad" title="Execution by firing squad">firing-squad</a> <a href="/wiki/Execution" class="mw-redirect" title="Execution">execution</a> site, in Ogle County, Illinois, of two members of "The Banditti" belonging to the local Driscoll gang. It reads "John & William Driscoll Executed Here June 29, 1841"</figcaption></figure> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Banditti_influence">Banditti influence</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Banditti_of_the_Prairie&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Banditti influence"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The "Prairie Bandits" were active across northern Illinois, especially in Lee, Ogle, Winnebago, and DeKalb Counties, from 1835 until the events leading to their ultimate demise began on March 21, 1841.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The bandits wielded considerable influence in the area collectively known as the <a href="/wiki/Rock_River_(Illinois)" class="mw-redirect" title="Rock River (Illinois)">Rock River Valley</a>, following the influx of immigrants after the <a href="/wiki/Black_Hawk_War" title="Black Hawk War">Black Hawk War</a> of 1832, the last Indian war in Illinois. The Banditti posed a far greater threat, for a much longer period, than the exaggerated paranoia of the two-month Native American conflict. Former Illinois Governor <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Ford_(politician)" title="Thomas Ford (politician)">Thomas Ford</a> wrote in <i>History of Illinois</i>: </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>... the northern part of the State was not destitute of its organized bands of rogues engaged in murders, robberies, horsestealing, and in making and passing counterfeit money. These rogues were scattered all over the north: but the most of them were located in the counties of Ogle, Winnebago, Lee and DeKalb. In the county of Ogle they were so numerous, strong, and organized that they could not be convicted for their crimes.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Banditti_activity">Banditti activity</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Banditti_of_the_Prairie&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Banditti activity"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In Lee County, Illinois, the Banditti also had enough power to get away unnoticed. The group had enough allies that they were scattered throughout the county. The connections the Banditti had around the county made illegal activities such as counterfeiting and dealing in and concealing stolen property easy to perpetrate.<sup id="cite_ref-lee_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lee-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> At one time, every township officer in Lee County reportedly was a member of the Banditti. Acts of theft were carried on in defiance of authority. Citizens were threatened when they tried to seek redress from the thieves.<sup id="cite_ref-lee_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lee-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the end, the Prairie Bandits' activity in Ogle and Lee Counties became more than area residents were willing to withstand. In Ogle County, the crimes that occurred in March 1841 resulted in a <a href="/wiki/Kangaroo_court" title="Kangaroo court">kangaroo court</a>, which culminated with the lynching of two Banditti near <a href="/wiki/Oregon,_Illinois" title="Oregon, Illinois">Oregon, Illinois</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-nrhp2_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nrhp2-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In nearby Lee County, a Vigilance Committee was formed by men from throughout Lee County, and especially <a href="/wiki/Lee_Center_Township,_Lee_County,_Illinois" title="Lee Center Township, Lee County, Illinois">Lee Center Township</a> took an active role in suppressing the Banditti activity.<sup id="cite_ref-lee_2-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lee-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Ogle_County">Ogle County</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Banditti_of_the_Prairie&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Ogle County"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Beginning with the events on March 21, 1841, violence and retribution escalated in the area around the Ogle County seat of Oregon. Illinois, still frontier in 1841, was settled by large numbers of migrants after the Black Hawk War. The settlers were followed to the area by a criminal element.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Banditti of the Prairie were part of the crime problem that plagued much of northern Illinois. As such, the concerned citizens of Ogle County organized and eventually took the law into their own hands.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On March 21, 1841, six members of the Banditti were arrested on charges of counterfeiting. They were held at the Ogle County Jail in the city of Oregon. That night, a fire broke out in the newly completed courthouse, which was to be used for the first time the next day.<sup id="cite_ref-nrhp2_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nrhp2-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The fire, <a href="/wiki/Arson" title="Arson">set</a> by the Banditti, was meant as a diversion to facilitate the escape of the apprehended gang members. The diversion failed; though the courthouse burned to the ground, the jail remained intact. The court records concerning the case had been safely concealed in the home of the court clerk. Ford, who sat as Ogle County circuit judge at the time, reconvened court at a new location, and the trial for the accused counterfeiters went on as planned. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Jury" title="Jury">jury</a>, as was common in Ogle County at the time, had been <a href="/wiki/Jury_tampering" title="Jury tampering">infiltrated</a> by one of the Banditti, who subsequently refused to convict the accused. The other jurors persuaded the rogue juror to convict by threatening to lynch him in the jury room if he failed to agree with the majority opinion. The Banditti juror capitulated, and three of the accused were convicted. The convicts, however, soon escaped and avoided their sentences.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In April, 1841, the community of Oregon, and Ogle County in general, had reached a boiling point. During that month, a group of citizens, possibly acting under direct counsel from Ford, met at a schoolhouse in <a href="/wiki/White_Rock_Township,_Ogle_County,_Illinois" class="mw-redirect" title="White Rock Township, Ogle County, Illinois">White Rock Township</a>, and formed an organization aimed at driving the outlaws out of the county.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Membership in the new group grew quickly, soon numbering in the hundreds, and copycat chapters sprang up all over the Rock River Valley. These bands of citizen vigilantes were most often known as "Regulators". They were also called "lynching clubs", and in Lee County, one group was known as the "Associations for the Furtherance of the Cause of Justice".<sup id="cite_ref-nrhp2_3-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nrhp2-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Regulators in Ogle County began by whipping two horse thieves, one of whom joined the group after the incident. The first Ogle County Regulator captain, W.S. Wellington, stepped aside after his <a href="/wiki/Grist_mill" class="mw-redirect" title="Grist mill">grist mill</a> was destroyed and his horse tortured and killed in April 1841. The new captain, John Campbell, was a resident of White Rock Township. The local Banditti were the Driscoll family and members of the <a href="/w/index.php?title=Driscoll_Gang&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Driscoll Gang (page does not exist)">Driscoll Gang</a>. At the head was John Driscoll, who had migrated from Ohio in 1835 with his four grown sons, William, David, Pierce, and Taylor. The Driscolls lived on <a href="/wiki/Killbuck_Creek_(Kishwaukee_River)" class="mw-redirect" title="Killbuck Creek (Kishwaukee River)">Killbuck Creek</a> in northeast Ogle County. Driscoll and his son Taylor had both been convicted of arson while they lived in Ohio.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Campbell's ascension to the lead Regulator post was met with hostility from the Driscoll camp. William Driscoll immediately sent Campbell a letter offering to kill him. Campbell responded in kind; he assembled 200 Regulators, and marched to the Driscoll home. A small group of Banditti had gathered at the Driscoll homestead, but seeing they were outnumbered, they fled, only to return with the DeKalb County <a href="/wiki/Sheriff" title="Sheriff">sheriff</a> and other authorities in tow. The sheriff and his companions did not see the events as the outlaws had hoped; they sided with the vigilantes, and the Driscolls promised to leave within twenty days.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Instead of leaving, the Driscolls and the other Banditti held a meeting in which they determined that Campbell and his fellow Regulator, Phineas Chaney, had to be murdered.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Execution">Execution</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Banditti_of_the_Prairie&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Execution"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Nearly three months later, on June 25, 1841, an attempt was made to kill Chaney. Two days passed, and on June 27, David Driscoll and his brother Taylor attacked Campbell at his farm. David fired the single, fatal shot. Campbell's son, Martin, then 13, fired at the Driscolls with a shotgun, but the weapon failed to go off.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The account that stated David and Taylor Driscoll were the gunmen came from Campbell's wife. Despite this claim, hoofprints at the scene of the crime indicated that an additional three horses had been there. The Regulators followed these prints back to the Driscoll home. Once there, accompanied by Ogle County Sheriff William T. Ward, the angry group confronted John Driscoll. After questioning by Ward and his accompanying mob, the sheriff was satisfied that John Driscoll was involved in Campbell's murder and arrested him "on suspicion of being accessory to the murder".<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> While David and Taylor Driscoll, the gunmen, fled that fateful day, William and Pierce Driscoll were arrested by a group of Regulators from Rockford.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Regulator court was convened at "Stephenson's Mill" in Washington Grove, Illinois, because of the courthouse fire in March, 1841. The court was organized, witnesses gathered, and proceedings went forward.<sup id="cite_ref-nrhp2_3-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nrhp2-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A crowd gathered at the mill, estimated to be as many as 500. At this point, Sheriff Ward appealed to have the Driscolls returned to his custody. E.S. Leland presided over the <a href="/wiki/Kangaroo_court" title="Kangaroo court">makeshift court</a> as judge, a position he later held legitimately in <a href="/wiki/Ottawa,_Illinois" title="Ottawa, Illinois">Ottawa, Illinois</a>. Leland directed those present who were Regulators to form a circle; 120 men initially stepped forward; nine were dismissed as not being "real" Regulators. The 111 men remaining formed the "jury".<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On June 29, 1841, the vigilante trial began, and William Driscoll admitted to telling his brother to kill Campbell, but only "in jest". His father, John, denied vehemently that he had anything to do with the murder, though he did admit to stealing numerous horses. Pierce Driscoll was released from custody when no evidence was found linking him to the crime. At the trial's end, the guilty verdict was described as "almost unanimous"; the Driscolls were immediately sentenced to be <a href="/wiki/Hanging" title="Hanging">hanged</a> on the spot. The Driscolls refused to be hanged and instead requested that they be shot. Before the <a href="/wiki/Capital_punishment" title="Capital punishment">execution</a> was carried out, William Driscoll confessed to six murders; John confessed to nothing. The Regulators then assembled a large firing squad, and prepared to carry out the execution. The Regulators divided themselves into two separate squads, one for each man, of 55 and 56 riflemen. The line of 56 executioners shot first John Driscoll. William, by this time trembling, was gunned down next by the line of 55 Regulators.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The description in the 1909 <i>Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois</i> was somewhat more tame: </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>[the Driscolls were] . . . led out, and shot, and then the other was led out, and after being shown the body of his dead relative, he was exhorted to confess that he had committed the crime charged against him. This he refused to do, but acknowledged that he had committed other crimes for which he deserved death.<sup id="cite_ref-nrhp2_3-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nrhp2-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Lynching" title="Lynching">lynching</a> of the Driscolls did not spell the end of the Regulators, nor the Banditti, but it did serve to greatly decrease Banditti activity in Ogle County.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Other_Banditti_activity">Other Banditti activity</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Banditti_of_the_Prairie&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Other Banditti activity"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Though the Banditti continued to plague areas of northern Illinois, they were largely eradicated from Ogle County following the lynching of the Driscolls.<sup id="cite_ref-marker_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-marker-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Both the Banditti and the Regulators, though, continued to be active. In Winnebago County, in early July 1841, the offices of the <i>Rock River Express</i> were ransacked, an early predecessor to the <i>Rockford Register Star</i>, the daily newspaper of <a href="/wiki/Rockford,_Illinois" title="Rockford, Illinois">Rockford, Illinois</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-rrs_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-rrs-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The offices were likely trashed in response to a scathing editorial published by the <i>Express</i> speaking out against the vigilante action taken by the Regulators.<sup id="cite_ref-regulators_1-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-rrs_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-rrs-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Banditti crimes continued well into the 1840s. One of the most shocking incidents, outside of the murderous crimes of the Driscoll gang in Ogle, to be attributed to the Banditti was the callous murder of Colonel George Davenport at his home on the grounds of <a href="/wiki/Rock_Island_Arsenal" title="Rock Island Arsenal">Rock Island Arsenal</a>. On July 4, 1845, Colonel Davenport was assaulted in his home by Banditti men who thought he had a fortune in his safe. Beaten and left for dead, he survived long enough to give a full description of the criminals before he died that night.<sup id="cite_ref-George_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-George-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> An amateur detective named Edward Bonney tracked down the killers and brought them to justice. Five men were charged with the murder of George Davenport, and all but one, who escaped before the trial, were hanged for the murder.<sup id="cite_ref-George_6-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-George-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Three more men were charged with being accessories to the murder. One man was sentenced to life in prison, but escaped and was killed three months later; one man served one year in prison; and the charges were dropped against the third man, who left the area.<sup id="cite_ref-George_6-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-George-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In Lee County, Illinois, the Banditti were most active in 1843-1850, after the lynching in Ogle. During that period, crime and gang operations were rampant throughout the Mississippi Valley, but Lee County, like its neighboring northern Illinois counties, had consistent activity.<sup id="cite_ref-lee_2-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lee-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Near the Lee County village of <a href="/wiki/Franklin_Grove,_Illinois" title="Franklin Grove, Illinois">Franklin Grove</a>, a brutal double murder was committed in 1848.<sup id="cite_ref-fg_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fg-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On May 20, 1848, area resident Joshua Wingert, while searching through the grove 2 mi (3 km) west of town for his cattle, came upon a small log hut.<sup id="cite_ref-fg_7-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fg-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Inside, he discovered the bodies of two men, killed with their own <a href="/wiki/Axe" title="Axe">axe</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-fg_7-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fg-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> One of the men was nearly decapitated, and the other had a large gash across his forehead. The assumed motive was robbery, as the hut was ransacked and bloody fingerprints were all about the small building. The Banditti perpetrator or perpetrators were never apprehended.<sup id="cite_ref-fg_7-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fg-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Also in Lee County, the Banditti were active in and around Inlet Grove. In June 1844, the group carried out a daring robbery of a Mr. Haskell. Haskell's residence was robbed by masked men in the midst of a summer thunderstorm. The perpetrators entered Haskell's bedroom while his wife and he were asleep. The robbers dragged a trunk of money out from underneath the sleeping Haskells' bed undetected, much of the noise they made probably drowned out by thunder. The Haskells did not discover they had been the victims of a robbery until the next morning.<sup id="cite_ref-leecenter_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-leecenter-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Banditti_of_the_Prairie&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Killing_of_Joseph_Smith" title="Killing of Joseph Smith">Killing of Joseph Smith</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Banditti_of_the_Prairie&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-regulators-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-7"><sup><i><b>h</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-8"><sup><i><b>i</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-9"><sup><i><b>j</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-10"><sup><i><b>k</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-11"><sup><i><b>l</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-12"><sup><i><b>m</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-13"><sup><i><b>n</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-14"><sup><i><b>o</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-15"><sup><i><b>p</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-regulators_1-16"><sup><i><b>q</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Channick, Herbert S. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/2002/ih020506.html">The Regulators and the Prairie Bandits</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060910151020/http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/2002/ih020506.html">Archived</a> 2006-09-10 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>, <i>Illinois Heritage</i>, 2002, Illinois Periodicals Online, Northern Illinois University Libraries. Retrieved March 5, 2007.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-lee-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-lee_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-lee_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-lee_2-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-lee_2-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">"<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.leecountyhistory.com/articles/950323.htm">The Banditti</a>," Stories & Articles, <i>Lee County Historical Society</i>. Retrieved July 7, 2007.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-nrhp2-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-nrhp2_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-nrhp2_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-nrhp2_3-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-nrhp2_3-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-nrhp2_3-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/223428.pdf">"Oregon Commercial Historic District"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Oregon+Commercial+Historic+District&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fgis.hpa.state.il.us%2Fhargis%2FPDFs%2F223428.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABanditti+of+the+Prairie" class="Z3988"></span> <span style="font-size:85%;">(3.39 MB)</span>, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Preservation Agency. Retrieved March 5, 2007.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-marker-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-marker_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.historyillinois.org/Markers/old_markers/263.htm">The Regulators and the Banditti</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070927175141/http://www.historyillinois.org/Markers/old_markers/263.htm">Archived</a> 2007-09-27 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>, Missing Historical Marker, Illinois State Historical Society. Retrieved March 5, 2007.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-rrs-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-rrs_5-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-rrs_5-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.rrstar.com/ezaccess/aboutus/history.shtml">About Us - History</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template"><span style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot"><span title=" Dead link tagged June 2019">permanent dead link</span></a></i><span style="visibility:hidden; color:transparent; padding-left:2px">‍</span>]</span></sup>, <i>Rockford Register Star</i>, Retrieved March 5, 2007.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-George-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-George_6-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-George_6-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-George_6-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.qcmemory.org/genealogy-and-history/local-history-info/history-faq/people/george-davenport/">"George Davenport"</a>. Davenport Public Library<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2018-01-11</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=George+Davenport&rft.pub=Davenport+Public+Library&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.qcmemory.org%2Fgenealogy-and-history%2Flocal-history-info%2Fhistory-faq%2Fpeople%2Fgeorge-davenport%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABanditti+of+the+Prairie" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-fg-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-fg_7-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-fg_7-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-fg_7-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-fg_7-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.franklingroveil.org/testt.htm">History</a>, From a booklet printed by Telegraph and Herald Book and Job Print, <a href="/wiki/Dixon,_Illinois" title="Dixon, Illinois">Dixon, Illinois</a>, 1870, Village of Franklin Grove, Official site. Retrieved March 5, 2005.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-leecenter-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-leecenter_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.leecountyhistory.com/lee_county/lee_cntr.htm">Lee Center</a>," The History of Lee County, <i>Lee County Historical Society</i>. Retrieved July 7, 2007.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Banditti_of_the_Prairie&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Edward_Bonney" title="Edward Bonney">Bonney, Edward</a>. <i>Banditti of the Prairies, or the Murderer's Doom!!: A Tale of the Mississippi Valley</i>. Chicago: T.B. Peterson and Brothers, 1850</li> <li>Chapman, Charles M., publisher. <i>History of Pike county, Illinois: together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons and biographies of representative citizens</i>, 1880</li> <li>Cole, Harry Ellsworth, Cole, Kellogg, Louise Phelps, and Louise Phelps, Brunet, Patrick J. <i>Stagecoach and tavern tales of the Old Northwest</i>. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1930.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Milo_Quaife" title="Milo Quaife">Quaife, Milo Milton</a>. <i>Chicago's Highways, Old and New, from Indian Trail to Motor Road</i>, Chicago: D.F. Keller & Co., 1923</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Banditti_of_the_Prairie&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lib.niu.edu/2002/ih020506.html">The Regulators and the Prairie Bandits - Northern Illinois University Library Online Periodicals</a></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Commons-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/12px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/18px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, 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href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Illinois_riots" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Illinois riots"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Riots_and_civil_unrest_in_Illinois" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Riots and civil unrest in <a href="/wiki/Illinois" title="Illinois">Illinois</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Race_riot" class="mw-redirect" title="Race riot">Race riots</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Pana_Massacre" class="mw-redirect" title="Pana Massacre">Pana riot of 1899</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Danville_race_riot" title="Danville race riot">Danville race riot of 1903</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Springfield_race_riot_of_1908" title="Springfield race riot of 1908">Springfield race riot of 1908</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/East_St._Louis_riots" class="mw-redirect" title="East St. Louis riots">East St. Louis riots of 1917</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chicago_race_riot_of_1919" title="Chicago race riot of 1919">Chicago race riot of 1919</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Airport_Homes_race_riots" title="Airport Homes race riots">Airport Homes race riots of 1946</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fernwood_Park_race_riot_of_1947" class="mw-redirect" title="Fernwood Park race riot of 1947">Fernwood Park race riot of 1947</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Englewood_race_riots_of_1949" class="mw-redirect" title="Englewood race riots of 1949">Englewood race riots of 1949</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cicero_race_riot_of_1951" title="Cicero race riot of 1951">Cicero race riot of 1951</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trumbull_Park_Homes#Race_riots" title="Trumbull Park Homes">Trumbull Park race riots of 1953</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dixmoor_race_riot" title="Dixmoor race riot">Dixmoor race riot of 1964</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Racial_unrest_in_Cairo,_Illinois" title="Racial unrest in Cairo, Illinois">Cairo racial unrest</a>, 1967-1973</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marquette_Park_rallies" title="Marquette Park rallies">Marquette park racial unrest</a>, 1960s-1980s</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other riots<br />and unrest</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Banditti of the Prairie</a>, 1830s–1840s</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lager_Beer_Riot" title="Lager Beer Riot">Lager Beer Riot</a>, 1855</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charleston_riot" title="Charleston riot">Charleston riot</a>, 1864</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Haymarket_affair" title="Haymarket affair">Haymarket affair</a>, 1886</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pullman_Strike" title="Pullman Strike">Pullman Strike</a>, 1894</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Virden" title="Battle of Virden">Battle of Virden</a>, 1898</li> <li><a href="/wiki/1905_Chicago_Teamsters%27_strike" class="mw-redirect" title="1905 Chicago Teamsters' strike">1905 Chicago Teamsters' strike</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aldermen%27s_wars" title="Aldermen's wars">Aldermen's wars</a>, 1916–1921</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Memorial_Day_massacre_of_1937" class="mw-redirect" title="Memorial Day massacre of 1937">Memorial Day massacre of 1937</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Division_Street_riots" title="Division Street riots">Division Street riots</a>, 1966</li> <li><a href="/wiki/1966_Chicago_West_Side_Riots" class="mw-redirect" title="1966 Chicago West Side Riots">1966 Chicago West Side Riots</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1968_Chicago_riots" title="1968 Chicago riots">1968 Chicago riots</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention_protests" title="1968 Democratic National Convention protests">1968 Democratic National Convention protests</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Days_of_Rage" title="Days of Rage">Days of Rage</a> Weatherman riot, 1969</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Humboldt_Park_riot" title="Humboldt Park riot">Humboldt Park riot</a>, 1977</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chicago_Bulls_Championship_riots" class="mw-redirect" title="Chicago Bulls Championship riots">Chicago Bulls riots</a>, 1990s</li> <li><a href="/wiki/2016_Donald_Trump_Chicago_rally_protest" title="2016 Donald Trump Chicago rally protest">2016 Donald Trump Chicago rally protest</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/George_Floyd_protests_in_Chicago" title="George Floyd protests in Chicago">George Floyd protests in Chicago</a>, 2020</li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" 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