In June 1836, the Heatherly gang, an infamous family living near the Grand River in northwestern Missouri, attempted to sell whiskey to the Potawatomies, a tribe immigrating to new homes west of the Missouri River. The Native Americans refused to buy the whiskey. The gang then stole some of their horses, instead. The Potawatomies pursued the horse thieves and were fired upon when they reached the Heatherly camp; two of the gang were killed. In a cover-up, the Heatherlys then went to the settlements, raising an alarm that thousands of Indians were in the country murdering and robbing. They also claimed that the tribes had killed white men in the Upper Grand River country. Governor Daniel Dunklin sent 200 militiamen to the area with orders to expel all Native Americans from the state. A federal investigation determined that white men preying upon a friendly Native American tribe had provoked the incident and there was no cause for the panic. The militia disbanded. The members of the Heatherly gang were later apprehended.

Source: Soldiers Database: War of 1812 - World War I