When the Black Hawk War of 1832 broke out, both the federal government and the state of Illinois reacted quickly to Black Hawk's return. More than 3,000 men joined the state militia to defend the northwestern settlements from what was considered a serious threat to Illinois, driven in part by many settlers' lifelong fear of American Indians and also by the personal reputations, business relationships, and political careers that could benefit from military service and success in war. Among the young military leaders who later gained greater fame was Abraham Lincoln, who was elected captain of a militia company from New Salem, Illinois, in April and later re-enlisted for a second thirty-day tour of duty as a private, camping overnight at Apple River Fort a few weeks before the battle. In a later autobiography written for John L. Scripps around June 1860, Lincoln recalled that being elected captain had given him more satisfaction than any other success in his life, while Governor Reynolds, responding to news of Black Hawk's crossing into Illinois on April 17, 1832, called on citizens to serve, saying the British Band of Sacs and other hostile Indians under Black Hawk had invaded the state and put frontier settlers in imminent danger.