Abraham Lincoln's role in the war

[Lincolnstudent]

Greetings, gentlemen: This is Mark Scarborough from Wisconsin Rapids, WI. I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation at Adams, WI, during your summer event there (Pinery Road Days). I am currently engaged in creating an exhibit on Abraham Lincoln's connections to Wisconsin. He visited the state twice, in 1832 as a captain and private in separate companies of Illinois milita in the Black Hawk War, apparently getting as far as present-day Whitewater before being mustering out and having his horse stolen, and in 1859, during a summer of politicking (sp???) before his presidential nomination, stopping and making speeches at Milwaukee, Beloit, and Janesville. I am familiar with the general literature about Lincoln and the Black Hawk War, but I could greatly benefit from the thinking of an expert historian (aka Robert Braun) on HIS view of Lincoln's role in the war, and, perhaps, Robert's thoughts on how the war influenced Lincoln's future role as commander in chief of the Union forces in America's Civil War of 1861-65.

[Robert Braun]

Hello, Mark. Glad you found the discussion board. I disagree with your "expert" label... but will try to take a stab at answering your questions. No doubt other, more knowledgeable board contributors will chime in, and their contributions are more than welcome.

I think many board contributors would agree with me that Lincoln's role in the BHW has been amplified by events that occured some three decades AFTER the war. In point of fact, Lincoln's contributions mirrored a majority of Illinois volunteers who frankly served but didn't have the opportunity to do too much.

Lincoln served three enlistments, on eof which as a captian; the remainder a a private. There is little in the record that indicated Lincoln was particularly good as an officer, nor is there much to indicate he was particularly bad. The same case could be made for numerous other company-grade offciers during their enrollments.

Aside for much horseback riding, Lincoln's sole contribution may have been that he and his company were involbed in the burial of the dead from Stillman's Run. He himself joked that the only blood HE shed during the BHW was to the merciless mosquitoes.

I recall reading that Lincoln's BHW service was a source of great personal satisfaction to him... perhaps more so than any other public office he held up to the presidency.

Like hundreds of Lincoln's counterparts and fellow Westerners, he served quietly and without too much fanfare--certainly without ever seeing combat. Unlike Jefferson Davis, he never trumped up his war service into something that it wasn't. And if Lincoln's short tenure was anything, it wasn't spectacular. And he knew it.

I think his short stint in soldiering provided Lincoln with insight into military service that served him, however modestly, in the White House. He knew what it was like to be long hours in the saddle far from home, grumpy over the rain, sticky summer heat, hoards of mosquitoes, indifferent rations and the inevitable "fog of war." He also witnessed the aftermath of a battle with Indians, and such impressions could not help but run deep. Finally, he served both as an officer and as enlisted man, afffording him an opportunity to see a company of men from two unique venues.

Having written this, the same could have been true for many other Illinois men, including men in some of the same companies in which Lincoln served. His experiences were not particularly unique. However, later writers have seen fit to focus a sharper spotlight on these activities because of Lincoln's LATER life, and not in the context of his youth, with an unknown future ahead of him.

[Lincolnstudent]

Thank you, Robert. I tend to agree with your insightful analysis. And I beg to differ on your own expertise.

Since Lincoln had no formal training in the military, such as Jefferson Davis and U.S. Grant, I can't help but think his Black Hawk War service, meager as it must have been, helped prepare him in some way as commander in chief of the Union forces in the Civil War. Perhaps just the sense of humility that comes with command gone awry worked in his favor, as he struggled to find a general "who would fight." I recall an incident from the Black Hawk War (perhaps, apochrophal) where Capt. Lincoln forgot the command for how to have his men march single file through a gate and puzzled over the misremembered info for a few minutes, before having them " fall out " and "fall in" again on the side of the gate he wanted to go through. Much, also, has been made of the story (again, probably somewhat imagined) of how Lincoln saved a peaceful, elderly Indian from his men (the native was carrying a pass of goodwill signed by an American official; his men, apparently, were just hungry for action, having seen none).

There are some remembered incidents of Lincoln's Black Hawk War service in the book, "Herndon's Informants."

Yes, Lincoln did say that his election as captain of his company in 1832 was a success that gave him more pleasure than any other since that time. He wrote this in 1859 (or perhaps, 1860) in an autobiographical sketch prepared for Jesse Fell, for political purposes during the campaign of 1860. William Dean Howells prominently mentions Lincoln's service in the war in his 1860 campaign biography.

For my exhibit here (at McMillan Memorial Library, on East Grand Avenue, Wisconsin Rapids, for all of October and all of November) I shall include two portraits of Black Hawk (one from 1834, a period lithograph similar to the portrait at the front of the first edition of his autobiography) and a color photograph of a discharge paper signed for one of Lincoln's men by the captain himself. This will accompany the earliest-known photograph of Mr. Lincoln (the one taken while he was a congressman, in 1847). The nature of the exhibit is Lincoln's connections with Wisconsin (which are weird, wide and various ... for example, at least three of his guard of honor, reserve veterans corps soldiers who were the only men allowed to move his casket as Lincoln's funeral train rolled back to Springfield, were from Wisconsin ... The 29 men of the guard were all presented the Congressional Medal of Honor for their work, but the award was rescinded in 1917 ... Our nearest honor guard member, Cpl. William Nobles, apparently had some connection to Steven Point ... His pale blue jacket, red sash, Enfield, sword and Medal of Honor are on display on the first floor of the City-County Building there).

Keep up the good work. I'll keep in touch. Mark Scarborough

[Chris Gordy]

Yes there are many stories of how Lincoln dealt with military life without any prior experience. However, my question is how would these stories help him while he was Commander in Chief. I suppose that a sense of humility could help in some matters in military affairs but I don't know that it would help in such a large military affair as the Civil War.

Yours,
Devil's Advocate

[Lincolnstudent]

Well, sir, perhaps it was just his own personal involvement in a military organization, the physicality of service, that helped him prepare for what came later on, because I can't believe he was that gifted in military strategy just by reading books. Of course, I'm sure he also benefited from talks with others, military types like Winfield Scott and Gen. Halleck, closer to the time of the presidency.

[smurfette65]

Would someone please explain to me why Lincoln's rank changed during the war? I've seen it referenced several times, but have been unable to locate why.

Thank you.

[Robert Braun]

Hello and welcome to the Black Hawk War Discussion Board! Please sign your real name to your postings, or modify your profile to include a signature line with your real name.

The short answer to your question is: militia companies elected their own officers, and enlistments were generally for thirty days. A man could enlist as a private in one company; then roughly thirty days later, he could enlist in another company and be elected an officer.

Lincoln was elected Captain of the company which constituted his first enlistment. He was mustered out of this company, then enrolled an a company in Illinois' "Twenty Day Interim Regiment." In this unit, he served as a private.

A primer on Lincoln's Black Hawk War service may be found on the Old Lead Region Historical Society website
www.geocities.com/old_lead/

Click on the "Articles" link and scroll down to the Black Hawk War section. The Lincoln article is located here.

Again... welcome to the Discussion Board!

Bob Braun
Moderator