Abraham Lincoln in the Black Hawk War
Abraham Lincoln | |
---|---|
Illinois Militia | |
Years of service | April 21, 1832 – July 10, 1832 |
Rank |
Discharged from his command and re-enlisted as a private. |
Commands held | Rifle company of the 31st Regiment of Militia of Sangamon County, 1st Division |
Battles/wars | Black Hawk War
aftermath of |
Other work | United States Congressman President of the United States |
Lincoln's service had a lasting impression on him, and he related tales about it later in life with modesty and a bit of humor. Through his service he was able to forge lifelong political connections. In addition, he received a land grant from the U.S. government for his military service during the war. Though Lincoln had no military experience when he assumed command of his company, he is generally characterized as an able and competent leader.
Background
Angered by the loss of his birthplace via prior disputed treaties, and against the best interests of other tribes affected,
On April 5, 1832, Black Hawk and around 1,000 warriors and civilians recrossed the
Black Hawk's reasons for crossing into Illinois were to reclaim lost lands, and perhaps create a confederacy of Native Americans to stand against white settlement.[5][6] Promises of aid from other Illinois tribes were made to the British Band, and Black Hawk believed that promises of assistance were made by the British in Canada.[5]
Map of Black Hawk War sites Battle (with name) Fort / settlement Native village Symbols are wikilinked to article |
Despite this, Black Hawk found no allies, and he attempted to return to Iowa, but ensuing events led to the Battle of Stillman's Run.[7] A number of other engagements followed, and the state militias of Wisconsin and Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk's band. The conflict became known as the Black Hawk War.
At the time of Black Hawk's incursion into Illinois, Lincoln was living in
Enlistment and election as captain
On April 21, 1832, Lincoln and the other volunteers gathered at the property of Dallas Scott.
Lincoln was commissioned as a captain in
The men spent time in Beardstown, where they drew provisions and weapons (as many of the men, including Lincoln, owned no weapons).[12] Other downtime in Beardstown was occupied by inter-company rivalry. An incident occurred on April 22, when Lincoln was challenged for a prime camping spot. Lincoln and his challenger wrestled for the spot and Lincoln was beaten before a crowd of fellow soldiers.[12] After the wrestling match, Lincoln and the other commanders spent April 23–26 conducting light drills and drawing supplies.[14] On April 28, Lincoln's company was enrolled into state service by Colonel John J. Hardin, and Lincoln drew further supplies (including whiskey, food staples, and tin pans).[14] The volunteers marched to Rushville, a distance of 10 miles (16 km), on April 30, 1832.[14]
Following their arrival in Rushville, the troops continued marching for several days toward the mouth of the
War
Stillman's Run
Lincoln engaged in no combat during the Black Hawk War,[18][19] as Lincoln's own recollections of this time attest.[20] He did, however, see scalped corpses and witness the results of the war's atrocities.[18] Lincoln was 23 years old at the time of the Black Hawk War, and his experience in the volunteer militia was his only military experience prior to becoming president.[18]
Various sources, many compiled at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, document the movements of Lincoln's company after the outbreak of hostilities at the Battle of Stillman's Run.[17] On May 15, 1832, Lincoln's company set out under the command of Whiteside and reached the site of Stillman's Run by sunset. According to letters from Whiteside to militia commander Henry Atkinson, the soldiers, including Lincoln, arrived to find militia men dead, scalped, and mangled.[17]
In a 2006 article, author Scott Dyer asserted that Whiteside's men, including Captain Lincoln, "paraded" the area the morning after, and buried the dead from Stillman's Run. Their movements were in an unsuccessful effort to draw out the Sauk, after which they returned to Dixon's Ferry.[21] Lincoln's presence at Stillman's Run was still under investigation as of 2003[update].[22][23][24]
The marble facade on the Stillman Valley monument, erected in 1901, commemorating the battle, includes the reference to Lincoln's presence at Stillman's Run, "The presence of soldier, statesman, martyr, Abraham Lincoln assisting in the burial of these honored dead has made this spot more sacred."[25]
Still, other sources assert that it was General Whiteside who originally buried the dead in a common grave on a ridge south of the battlefield, marked with a rudimentary wooden memorial. These sources make no mention of Lincoln.[26][27]
From captain to private
Two days after Stillman's Run, Lincoln and his company drew 10 quarts of meal and 10 pounds of pork from supply at
Henry Atkinson, a militia commander, arrived in Ottawa on May 28, and on May 29 Lieutenant
From June 8 to June 10, the company moved on orders toward Galena; on June 8, the group camped 20 miles (32 km) from Dixon's Ferry, and on June 9 near the Apple River Fort. The company found the people in Galena demoralized and was ordered to return to Dixon's Ferry on June 11. On the march back, the group made camp at the same campsites it used on its march toward Galena.[28] The men arrived back in Dixon's Ferry on June 13, and on June 16, Anderson mustered them out of service at Fort Wilbourn.[28]
From June 16 until July 10, Lincoln served as a private in Captain Jacob Early's independent company.[10] Early's company was known as an "independent spy company", which was ordered into federal service by Atkinson and meant to operate separately from the other brigades.[29]
Later, Lincoln told William Herndon, "I was out of work and there being no danger of more fighting, I could do nothing better than enlist again."[10] Early's company was officially mustered into service on June 20, and two days later it was ordered to report to General Hugh Brady at Dixon's Ferry. The company remained at Dixon's Ferry through June 25, 1832.[28] Early's company was then dispatched to Kellogg's Grove at 4 p.m. on June 25.[28]
Kellogg's Grove
A number of sources assert that on June 26, 1832, the morning after the Second Battle of Kellogg's Grove, members of Early's company arrived at Kellogg's Grove to help bury the dead. Lincoln assisted with the burial, and later made a statement about his experience connected with the battles of both Kellogg's Grove and Stillman's Run.[23][24][25]
I remember just how those men looked as we rode up the little hill where their camp was. The red light of the morning sun was streaming upon them as they lay head towards us on the ground. And every man had a round red spot on top of his head, about as big as a dollar where the redskins had taken his scalp. It was frightful, but it was grotesque, and the red sunlight seemed to paint everything all over. I remember one man had on buckskin breeches.
The Lincoln quote appeared both in
The same day, on June 16, Captain Early wrote to General Atkinson, describing the situation in his own words.
I arrived here by day brake this morning [26th] & found Gen. Posey's men encamped here The circumstances connected with the attack on Maj. Dement's Bat[talion].are as well as I can gather substantially these Yesterday morning the Maj. ordered out a small party for the purpose of examining a trail leading to the Mississippi The detachment had not proceeded more than half a mile when they discovered a few Indians at a small distance from them the men rushed on them in a disorderly manner till they came to the main body of Indians where they were secreted in a thicket on seeing the Indians the men wheeled & fled precipitately & all the efforts of Maj. Dement to rally them were unavailing (for at the time the men commenced retreating before the Indians Maj. Dement came up with a reinforcement from the garrison The Maj. stated to me that his force on the field was equal in numbers to that of the enemy After the men retreated to the fort the Indians surrounded the house & commenced killing the Horses, they kept up a constant fire on the House & Horses for 2 or 3 hours. Major Dement Lost 5 killed & several wounded but none mortally when the Indians left the ground they retreated toward their encampment on the 4 lakes
When Gen Posey came up about an hour by sun he sent a regiment in the direction in which the Indians had retired. When they had proceeded about ½ mile the Indians showed themselves from a thick wood which skirted the praeria ... they [regiment] retired to their camps without engaging the enemy. The trail spoken of above has not yet been examined. Gen Posey says he will send a detachment with me to examine it. As soon as I see it you shall have the best information in my power to give you.[28]
Early's company, including Lincoln, remained at Kellogg's Grove until June 28, when they began their march back to Dixon's Ferry. They arrived sometime around 6 a.m. on June 29.[28]
Mustered out
On July 10, 1832, Atkinson decided he had too many men and mustered Early's company, including Lincoln, out of service. Lincoln's military career ended less than three months after it began.[29] In his last duty as a soldier, Lincoln wrote out the company roll for Lieutenant Robert Anderson,[30] the man who had mustered him into service in his second company under Iles.[10][31]
Lincoln's horse, along with a comrade's, was stolen the night before he was discharged from service; thus they made their way back to New Salem mostly on foot and occasionally on another comrade's horse.[29][32] Once in Peoria, Lincoln and his wartime compatriot bought a canoe and made their way down the Illinois River to Havana.[33] At Havana, they disembarked and made the final 23-mile (37 km) jaunt on foot.[29][33]
Lincoln's military ability
Lincoln had no military experience when he was elected captain of his company, but a large number of sources have described him as a capable commander and a popular leader.
One popularly repeated[35][36] story from Lincoln's Black Hawk War service illustrates Lincoln's qualities of honesty, and courageous, competent leadership. It involves a Potawotami who wandered into Captain Lincoln's camp. Lincoln's men assumed him a spy and wanted to kill him. The story goes that Lincoln threw himself between the Native American and the men's muskets, knocking their weapons upward and protecting the Potawotami. The militia men backed down after a few heated seconds.[37]
Another popularly repeated[38][39][40] story about Lincoln's leadership during the war illustrates his inexperience as a military commander. The story goes that Lincoln was marching his company and encountered an open gate, through which his formation needed to pass.[39] Unable to remember the proper command to direct his men through the gate, Lincoln called "Halt!" and ordered the men to fall out for two minutes and then reform on the other side of the gate.[40]
Other negative accounts of Lincoln's ability as a military leader came in the 1870s, when J. F. Snyder interviewed several of Lincoln's men from the Black Hawk War days. Snyder claimed the men, "never spoke of malice of Lincoln but always in a spirit of ridicule" and that they characterized Lincoln as "indolent and vulgar", "a joke, an absurdity", and the men "had serious doubts about his courage".[10]
Legacy and influence on Lincoln
On April 16, 1852, by act of Congress from 1850, Lincoln received a 40-acre (160,000 m2)
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,[44] 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,[45]
Later, in 1859,[9] Lincoln referred to his service during the Black Hawk War fondly,[11] noting his election as captain as one of the proudest moments in his life.[46] His Black Hawk War service has been referred to as a "shaping circumstance in his life",[47] as well as something he later referred to with modesty and self-depreciation.[48] Lincoln made one tongue-in-cheek remark concerning his Black Hawk War service during an 1848 speech before the U.S. Congress in which he referenced his Black Hawk War service, mentioning the Battle of Stillman's Run by name.
By the way Mr. Speaker, did you know that I am a military hero? Yes sir, in the days of the Black Hawk War I fought, bled and came away ... I was not at Stillman's defeat, but I was about as near it as Cass was Hull's surrender, and, like him, I saw the place very soon afterwards ... If he saw any live, fighting Indians, it was more than I did; but I had a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes, and although I never fainted from the loss of blood, I can truly say I was often very hungry.[9][39]
Some have regarded Lincoln's brief stint in the militia as important to his presidential leadership later on, during the American Civil War.[48] The 2002 essay collection, Rediscovering Abraham Lincoln, described Lincoln's familiarity with military affairs during the Civil War as "alien", noting that he regarded his own military service as a subject suited to mockery.[49]
While he was campaigning for president, the story of how Lincoln stopped his men from killing the Potawatomi they encountered before the outbreak of the war made its way into a campaign biography.
See also
Notes
- ^ The group was referred to as the "British Band", because of their earlier support to the British during the War of 1812 and continued reliance on British trade, as well as flying a British flag in their camp in defiance of American authority. See Lewis, "Background."
- ^ Lewis, James. "The Black Hawk War of 1832 Archived 2009-08-15 at the Wayback Machine," Abraham Lincoln Digitization Project, Northern Illinois University. Retrieved August 1, 2007.
- ^ Lewis, James. "Introduction Archived 2009-04-20 at the Wayback Machine," The Black Hawk War of 1832, Abraham Lincoln Digitization Project, Northern Illinois University. Retrieved August 1, 2007.
- ^ Harmet, p. 13.
- ^ a b c "April 6: The U.S. suspects Black Hawk is crossing the Mississippi Archived 2009-01-26 at the Wayback Machine," Historic Diaries: The Black Hawk War, Wisconsin State Historical Society. Retrieved August 1, 2007.
- ^ Lewis, James. "Background Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine," The Black Hawk War of 1832, Abraham Lincoln Digitization Project, Northern Illinois University. Retrieved August 1, 2007.
- ^ "May 14: Black Hawk's Victory at the Battle of Stillman's Run Archived 2007-08-14 at the Wayback Machine," Historic Diaries: The Black Hawk War, Wisconsin State Historical Society. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
- ISBN 0-8050-8345-6).
- ^ a b c "April 21: Abraham Lincoln in the Black Hawk War Archived 2008-12-03 at the Wayback Machine", Historic Diaries: Black Hawk War, Wisconsin Historical Society, accessed April 12, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Captain Abraham Lincoln", Illinois State Military Museum, Illinois National Guard, accessed April 12, 2009.
- ^ ISBN 1-4027-4288-6).
- ^ a b c Jung, The Black Hawk War of 1832, pp. 79-85.
- ^ Donald, David Herbert (1995). Lincoln. New York: Touchstone. p. 44.
- ^ a b c d "April, 1832 Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine", The Lincoln Log.
- ^ Lincoln Company was part of the formation in the lineage of the 130th Infantry Regiment (United States)
- ^ ISBN 0-8032-7303-7).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "June 1832". The Lincoln Log (The Papers of Abraham Lincoln). Retrieved Jun 4, 2013.
- ^ a b c d "NIU-produced Lincoln documentary, local history Web site debut April 28 Archived 2009-03-16 at the Wayback Machine", (Press release), Northern Illinois University, April 19, 2005, accessed April 12, 2009.
- ^ Monroe, R.D. "Indian Fighting and Politics in New Salem, 1831–1836 Archived 2009-02-09 at the Wayback Machine", Lincoln/Net: Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, Northern Illinois University libraries, accessed April 12, 2009.
- ISBN 0-7432-6639-0).
- ^ Dyar, Scott D. "Stillman's Run: Militia's Foulest Hour," Military History, March 2006, pp. 38–44, 72.
- ^ Braun, Robert A. "Abraham Lincoln's Military Service During the Black Hawk War: An Introduction, November 2002 and March 2003, Old Lead Historical Society. Retrieved August 11, 2007. Archived 2009-10-24.
- ^ ISBN 0-684-82351-9). Retrieved August 11, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Dameier, Evelyn. "Kellogg's Grove Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine", (PDF), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, January 18, 1978, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved July 26, 2007.
- ^ a b "Stillman's Run Memorial Archived 2009-03-21 at the Wayback Machine", Historic Places, Abraham Lincoln Online. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
- ), Ivison & Phinney: 1854, p. 123. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
- ^ The Lakeside Classics, (Google Books), R.R. Donnelley and Sons, Co: 1903, p. 179. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g "June 1832". The Lincoln Log (Papers of Abraham Lincoln). Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Jung, The Black Hawk War of 1832, pp. 116–135.
- ^ Lieutenant Robert Anderson later defended Fort Sumter in the opening volley of the American Civil War under President Lincoln's orders. See Jung, The Black Hawk War of 1832, p. 101.
- ^ Jung, The Black Hawk War of 1832, pp. 100–109.
- ISBN 0-15-602752-6).
- ^ ISBN 1-4191-4062-0).
- ^ ISBN 0-8028-4293-3).
- ^ Whipple, Wayne. The Heart of Lincoln: : The Soul of the Man as Revealed in Story and Anecdote, (Google Books), G.W. Jacobs & Company, 1915, p. 30.
- ISBN 0-252-06544-1).
- ISBN 1-58218-759-2).
- ISBN 0-306-80195-7).
- ^ Browne, Frances Fisher. The Everyday Life of Abraham Lincoln, Browne & Howell Company: 1913, pp. 37–40. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
- ^ a b "Black Hawk; His Stormy Career and Final Capture -- Jefferson Davis, Taylor, and Lincoln in the Strife", The New York Times, August 15, 1903.
- ^ a b Collections – State Historical Society of Wisconsin, (Google Books), State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1898, vol. 14, pp. 132–33.
- ISBN 1-58729-549-0).
- ISBN 068482535X.
- ^ See also: Orville Hickman Browning.
- John Todd Stuart.
- ^ Thompson, David Decamp. Abraham Lincoln, The First American, (Internet Archive), Cranston & Curts, 1895, p. 31.
- ISBN 0-313-29560-3).
- ^ ISBN 0-313-34814-6).
- ISBN 0-8232-2215-2).
- ^ a b "The Candidates; Sketch of the Career of the Hon. Abraham Lincoln", The New York Times, May 19, 1860, accessed April 13, 2009.
- ^ "Lincoln's New Salem 1830–1837", Lincoln Home National Historic Site, nps.gov, accessed April 13, 2009.
- ^ Emerson, Ralph W. "Our Late President; Character of President Lincoln", The New York Times, May 4, 1865, accessed April 13, 2009.
References
- Harmet, A. Richard. "Apple River Fort Site, (PDF), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, March 31, 1997, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
- Jung, Patrick J. The Black Hawk War of 1832, (Google Books), University of Oklahoma Press, 2008, (ISBN 0-8061-3994-3).
- The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln website
Further reading
- Efflandt, Lloyd H. Lincoln and the Black Hawk War, (Google Books), Rock Island Arsenal Historical Society, 1992. (ISBN 0-9617938-2-1).
- "Abraham Lincoln in the Black Hawk War", The New York Times, December 6, 1868, accessed April 13, 2009.
- Lanigan, Kelly "Abraham Lincoln: 'First Experience as a Leader of Men'", VFW Magazine, February 2009, accessed April 13, 2009.
External links
- Captain Abraham Lincoln, National Guard, Presidential Series Paintings, (link), accessed April 13, 2009.