Existing comment:
Three Terms of Service:
In April 1832, Abraham Lincoln joined a company of volunteers raised near New Salem to help drive a band of Indians, led by Black Hawk, across the Mississippi River. The more than sixty neighbors making up the unit chose him as its commander by an overwhelming vote. It was his first election victory. Captain Lincoln and his men spent four weeks marching and counter--marching across western and northern Illinois. When the company's term of service ended, Lincoln re-enlisted, this time as a private. He later signed on for a third enlistment. Lincoln was discharged on July 10, 1832, at White River in today's Wisconsin, and returned to New Salem. |