Captain Abraham Lincoln

The most distinguished alumnus of the Black Hawk War, Captain Abraham Lincoln, is remembered not because of his campaigning, but in spite of it. A reasonably honest man, Lincoln in later years never denied that he had served in the war; but, when he alluded to his campaign at all, he mentioned the slaughter of mosquitoes, not Indians. Yet he had volunteered eagerly. Only hindsight permits us to see that his pursuit of Black Hawk proved to be but the first leg of a public career that eventually ended in the White House.

Abraham Lincoln’s experience in the Black Hawk War was much like that of his fellow militiamen throughout the state. The volunteer soldiers of Illinois left their homes and families to protect against Indian aggression, see the countryside, and earn money. In July 1831, Lincoln was working at New Salem for Denton Offutt, but the business was failing when Black Hawk and his band of Sauk and Fox Indians crossed the Mississippi into Illinois. Lincoln joined with friends from New Salem and Clary’s Grove and journeyed to Richland Creek, southwest of New Salem, and formed a mounted infantry company. The volunteers assembled at the farm of Dallis Scott on April 21, 1832, where they were sworn into service and Lincoln was elected Captain. William Kirkpatrick, owner of a sawmill, announced his candidacy and some of the Clary’s Grove boys proposed Lincoln.

"Both candidates stepped out in front, on the village green, and the men formed a line behind their favorite. To Lincoln’s delight, two-thirds of the group fell in line behind him, and most of the others presently deserted Kirkpatrick and joined them."

Governor John Reynolds commissioned Lincoln as a captain in the 31^st Regiment of Militia of Sangamon County, 1^st Division on December 20, 1832. He received command of a Rifle Company and his rank was backdated to April 7, 1831. Lincoln’s company took its place in the 4^th Regiment of Mounted Volunteers in Samuel Whiteside’s Brigade.

Lincoln was inexperienced as a military leader, but he attempted to instill discipline in his company. He had learned a little about close-order drill, not enough to master the most complicated commands, but he gained the respect of his fellow militiamen by standing firm.

"He did not hesitate to use physical strength to preserve order. When an old Indian, bearing a certificate of good character from American authorities, stumbled into camp, Lincoln’s men talked of killing him, saying, 'The Indian is a damned spy' and 'We have come out to fight the Indian and by God we intend to do so.' Drawing himself up to his full height, Lincoln stepped in front of the shivering Indian and offered to fight anyone who wanted to hurt the old man. Grumbling, the soldiers let the Indian slip away."

His service in the Black Hawk War gave him some acquaintance with military life and helped him to make important political contacts throughout the state.

"Meeting volunteers from different parts of the state was useful to him politically, for it extended his reputation. While he was in the army, he came into contact with a number of rising young political leaders of the state, like Orville Hickman Browning, a cautious, conservative Quincy lawyer, who would become one of his most influential and critical friends. More important was his acquaintance with John Todd Stuart, a Springfield lawyer, who served as major in the same battalion as Lincoln."

Although Lincoln’s rank as captain was something he was said to have prided, he showed no reservation when discharged from his command on May 27 and re-enlisted as a private in Captain Elijah Iles’ company. He was mustered out of Iles’ company on June 16 and also served as a private in Captain Jacob Earley’s independent company from June 16 to July 10. He later told his law partner William Herndon, "I was out of work and there being no danger of more fighting, I could do nothing better than enlist again."

Though there is a vast array of sources characterizing Lincoln as a popular and capable leader during the Black Hawk War, some witnesses have regarded him in manner of ridicule.

In the 1870s, J.F. Snyder, who later became president of the Illinois State Historical Society, interviewed men of Lincoln’s company. He claimed they "never spoke of malice of Lincoln but always in a spirit of ridicule." He was characterized as being "indolent and vulgar," and they regarded him as "a joke, an absurdity, and had serious doubts about his courage. Any old woman, they said, would have made a more credible commander than he did."

He was also described as follows:

"Among the green officers unable to maintain discipline in his company was a pock-faced, stoop-shouldered, slab-sided assistant storekeeper from New Salem, a two-rut, hilltop settlement near Springfield. The first order Captain Abraham Lincoln ever gave to his men received the retort, 'Go to the devil, Sir!' Some of his men later confessed that they elected Lincoln as their commander, rather than his rival, William Kirkpatrick, because they would be able to do as they liked under Abe."

Despite characterizations of Lincoln as capable or incompetent, Lincoln later described his service in the Black Hawk War as valuable. In June 1860, Lincoln asserted to biographer John L. Scripps that he had "not since had any success in life which gave him so much satisfaction" as having served as Captain in the Black Hawk War, though he did not claim heroism in battle. In an anecdotal speech delivered on July 27, 1848 while "a fledgling congressman in our nation’s House of Representatives at Washington…[Lincoln spoke:]…by the way, Mr. Speaker, did you know I am a military hero? Yes sir; in the days of the Black Hawk War, I fought, bled, and camp away…," admitting that he broke no black in combat, poking fun at Democratic General Lewis Cass who aspired to be president that year, Lincoln said, "but I bent a musket pretty badly on one occasion." He proclaimed the mosquitoes caused his only loss of blood.

Lincoln’s service in the war, whether marked by heroism or ridicule, provided a detailed account of the soldiers’ experience, including the manner of dress, weapons and equipment enlisted, and compensation received for enrollment in the militia. There was no standard uniform for the volunteer militia. Lincoln, like many of his fellow militiamen

"…may have worn a calico shirt, or cotton cloth, 'striped white and blue.' It would have been sewed for him in New Salem by Hannah Armstrong, wife of Lincoln’s sergeant John ('Jack') Armstrong, who regularly made his shirts. His trousers were probably his usual blue jeans, homemade. On his feet would have been huge cowhide boots. It is possible that the young Captain possessed a buckskin coat, in Kentucky style. Deerskins could be had cheaply, and sewing women made their services available in his hometown on that high knob bordering the twisting Sangamon River.Topping out his outfit should have been 'an old slouch wool hat' on his infamous 'buckeye-chip hat,' if he never secured military headgear."

Cullen Bryant characterized Illinois soldiers in 1832 as "rough-but-tough volunteers who struggled against the wily marauding Indians." He described the inexperienced soldiers as "unkempt and unshaved, wearing shirts of dark calico, and sometimes calico capotes." A military man in another company exclaimed that Lincoln’s gang gave the appearance of being "the hardest set of men he ever saw."

Lincoln’s weapons were also typical of the militia. "Sangamon County militiamen most certainly obtained guns manufactured for the War of 1812, if not earlier conflicts." Captain Lincoln would have carried a flintlock musket. "Smoothbores," not rifled muskets were used. On April 28, 1832, "Capt. A. Lincoln of Sangamon (drew) 30 Muskets & Bayonets." He also received "flints" and "1 Keg Powder." When Governor Reynolds organized the militia, he ordered 6000 flints, 1000 pounds of powder, 4000 pounds of lead to be drawn by the troops. The militiamen also drew musketball cartridges, which consisted of paper cylinders containing powder and balls, to facilitated faster reloading (solders would tear the packet with their teeth, pour the contents into the barrel, and ram it down with a rod). Sangamon County volunteers also carried cartridge boxes with belts, bayonets with scabbards and belts and materials for muskets such as ramrods, wipers and screws. When Lincoln was reinstated as a private on May 27 in Captain Elijah Iles’ company, the muster roll indicated that he had his own arms, valued at ten dollars, and a borrowed horse worth 120 dollars.

Base pay for a private was $6.66 per month. This amount tripled if the soldier brought a horse, and most did. Soldiers received a travel allowance and easy access to food and whiskey, all he cared to eat and drink when available. Arms, bedding and camp equipment came from government stores and "generally returned home with the volunteer at the conclusion of the campaign." Land warrants were also issued to veterans when new territories were opened.

"For eighty days of service (a captain during the first month, thereafter he dropped to private) in what he called, according to his biographer and law partner, "a holiday affair and chicken-stealing expedition." Lincoln received a lump payment in 1833 of $125. In 1852 he got a land warrant for 40 acres in Iowa (which he had sold during the Civil War) and in 1856 another warrant for 120 acres in Illinois. Land sold for $1.00 an acre when it came on the market and appreciated rapidly. Therefore it might be agreed that Abraham Lincoln made more money per diem as a volunteer in the war than he did in any other job before or after, exclusive of the presidency…. In short, from a material point of view, the Black Hawk War was a generous employer not too choosy in selecting its employees. Indian fighting paid well and was considerably more diverting, and only slightly more dangerous, than chopping wood or slopping hogs back home."

Lincoln’s last official duty in the Black Hawk War "was to write out Jacob Early’s company role for Lieutenant Robert Anderson." Lincoln ended his third term of service on July 10, 1832 as a private in Captain Early’s Independent Spy Company. He returned home with difficulty because his horse was stolen.

"Lincoln traveled on foot with his messmate George Harrison because their horses had been stolen the night before. By hitching rides whenever they could find them, Harrison and Lincoln covered the two hundred miles to Peoria in five days. There they pooled their resources and bought a canoe. Lincoln carved a paddle from a plank, and they drifted down to Havana. Harrison later recalled that travel by canoe was slower than by foot… After selling the canoe in Havana, they crossed the burning prairie to New Salem. On July 19 the Sangamo Journal welcomed home Dr. Early’s troops and apologized to A. Lincoln for having failed to list him among the legislative candidates some weeks before. The mistake was a natural one - few people in the county had ever heard of him."