Armistice: An agreement to cease fire while warring parties negotiate a peace settlement.

Black Hawk War: A conflict named after Black Hawk (1767-1838), chief of the Sac, or Sauk, Native Americans. In 1804, the Sac and Fox tribes agreed to a treaty, later disputed, to give up their lands east of the Mississippi River. Suffering from hunger in their new, less fertile lands, the Sauk and Fox in 1832 returned to the disputed territory to plant crops. Skirmishes erupted into full-scale battles. The Native Americans were defeated, and Black Hawk surrendered on August 27.

"Indian lands": Lands in and around present- day Oklahoma, where Native Americans of the Southeast were forced to relocate in the 1830s.

Militia: A small military group, not affiliated with the federal government, organized for emergency service.

Secede: Formally withdraw from an existing organization.

War of 1812: A war fought from 1812 to 1815 between the...