Lincoln and Blackhawk

In 1832, Abraham Lincoln and his men were among about 1,500 volunteers who gathered in Beardstown for basic military drills after Gen. John Reynolds called for men to drive Black Hawk and his people out of Illinois. The camp spread through what is now Schmoldt Park, where townspeople watched the citizen soldiers train. Lincoln's company and other mounted units rode north from Beardstown on April 29, 1832, expecting a fight, but they saw no action and were discharged at Ottawa on May 27. Lincoln then reenlisted twice as a private, later saying that because he was out of work and there was no danger of more fighting, he could do nothing better than enlist again. His service ended on July 10, and he received $110 plus a $14 enlistment bonus before returning to New Salem in time for his first political campaign. The troops' rations included corn, flour, salt, salt pork, soap, candles, flints, and lead for bullets, while company supplies for about thirty men included tin buckets, coffee boilers, tin pans, and cups; whiskey was also part of the rations, and provisioning was perhaps the best handled part of the Black Hawk War effort. After his service ended, Lincoln planned to ride home with George Harrison, but their horses were stolen, so they traveled with Capt. Jacob Early's company to Peoria, bought a canoe there, stopped at Pekin where Lincoln made an oar and Harrison bought supplies, then continued on until they were invited onto a raft for a hot meal. They reached Havana on July 17, sold the canoe, and walked to New Salem, where Harrison later recalled Lincoln's long strides through the burning sand and his amusement at Harrison stepping in his tracks to avoid slipping.

Beardstown, Illinois · United States