In 1778, Boone and a party were gathering salt when they were attacked. Boone was captured and taken to Detroit where the indians made him a member of their tribe. Boone soon escaped and returned to Boonesborough. In one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War, Boone, a lieutenant colonel, was at the Battle of Blue Licks on 19 August 1782. The Americans were led into an ambush. Boone was one of the last to retreat. His son Israel Boone was killed in the battle. Boone was the hero of the battle, but other leaders had not listened to his warnings that it was a trap. Boone remained a leading figure in Kentucky for the next 24 years. Through a series of defective land titles and being cheated by land speculators, Boone lost all his lands in Kentucky. There were swarms of people coming into Kentucky and Boone felt crowded. Kentucky was no longer the wilderness it was when he first came there. Now he wanted to discover new lands. He was drawn to the wilds of what is now eastern Missouri.