The Black Hawk War Including a Review of Black Hawk's Life
villages. On the 26th, being very near the end of the journey, the
march was very leisurely pursued for twelve miles, where the last
camp before reaching Ottawa was established, and where the men
remained until the following morning, the 27th, when Ottawa was
reached. On that and the following days the Illinois volunteers were
mustered out by Major Buckmaster.
During that march along Sycamore Creek the story is told of an old
Pottawatomie Indian who came into camp, tired and hungry. His age
should have commanded respect, and probably would under
circumstances at all different, but in that instance the first
chance to kill a supposed enemy was presented and his death was
demanded. The poor old Indian produced from his garments a safe
conduct signed by Gen. Lewis Cass, pleading protection under it.
“Make an example of him,” cried one. “The letter is a forgery,”
cried others, and still others called him a spy, and the poor old
fellow was in danger of death, when Captain Lincoln, “his face
swarthy with resolution and rage,” stepped forward, even between the
cowering Indian and the guns pointed at him, and shouted, “This must
not be; he must not be shot and killed by us,” and the men recoiled.
“This is cowardly on your part, Lincoln,” one man said; to which
Captain Lincoln instantly replied, “If any man thinks I am a coward
let him test it.” Still defiant, another cried, “Lincoln, you are
larger and heavier than we are,” but that miserable objection was
quickly disposed of by the rejoinder from the Captain, “This you can
guard against; choose your weapons.” It is needless to add that no
one chose a weapon and that the Indian departed in safety.
On the 27th, the day Captain Lincoln was mustered out, he
re-enlisted as a private in the company of Elijah Iles, which was
one of the six companies to enter the twenty-day service,[291]
pending the organization of the new levies at Fort Wilbourn. He
remained with the company at Ottawa and in camp on the opposite bank
of the river until the morning of the 6th, when the company marched
for Dixon’s Ferry. The first night out the company camped at a point
a little south and east of what is now Sublette in Lee County, and
reached Dixon’s Ferry the evening of the 7th. On the morning of the
8th the company started for Galena, camping that night about twenty
miles out; the night of the 9th near Apple River Fort, now
Elizabeth, in Jo Daviess County, and in the forenoon of the 10th the
company reached Galena.
On the 11th it started on its return march over the same trail
pursued in going, camping at the same places, reaching Dixon’s Ferry
the night of June 13th, from which point it started on the 14th, and
reached Fort Wilbourn, where, on the evening of the 15th, the
company was mustered out by Lieut. Robert Anderson, and where, on
the following day, Mr. Lincoln was mustered into the company of Dr.
(Captain) Jacob M. Early, along with John T. Stuart and other
ex-captains, majors and minor officers.
On the 20th his company, which was an independent one, reporting
direct to General Atkinson, started for Dixon’s Ferry, arriving
there the evening of the 21st, and remaining at that point until
noon of the 27th, when he, with the second division of the army,
began his final march in pursuit of Black Hawk. Twelve miles out he
camped, and in the afternoon of the 29th once more reached and
camped on Stillman’s battlefield, six miles from Sycamore or
Kishwaukee Creek, as stated by Albert Sidney Johnston at the time.
On the morning of the 30th, he traveled four miles above Sycamore
Creek, to a point on Rock River “which is very narrow at this place,
and continues so.”
July 1st, the journal tells us: “Marched this morning seven miles
from the last encampment. Came to Rock River, which is scarcely one
hundred yards wide at this point. There is in the bluff a remarkably
fine spring, thickly shaded with cedar trees, the first I ever saw.
The bluff is pebbly. About half a mile above, a narrow, rapid creek
empties into Rock River, one mile below Pecatonica, known by the
name of Brown’s Creek. Encamped this evening in the fork of Turtle
Creek and Rock River, above the mouth of Turtle Creek.”
On the 2d he proceeded, after considerable suffering for want of
water, to the mouth of “the river of the Four Lakes,” on the banks
of a large pond.
On the 3d Lake Koshkonong, or “Mud Lake,” was reached, and there the
troops remained the 4th, 5th and 6th, Captain Early’s company doing
constant duty as a spy company or scouting party.
On the 7th the army moved up to Whitewater River and about four
miles up that stream, to which point the divisions of Posey and
Alexander came and camped.
On the 8th a council of war was held, at which it was resolved to
return to the mouth of the Whitewater and operate from that point.
On reaching the point where the troops were encamped on the 7th, the
army halted for the night. From that point Captain Early’s company
was constantly engaged in scouring the country in search of the
fleeing Indians, without any success at all. Many trails were
reported, but on following them up each proved abortive.
Provisions had become scarce. The enemy was as far away as ever. The
necessity of a different campaign became apparent. Captain Dunn, who
had been shot by accident, was recovering and was about to be
returned to Dixon’s Ferry under escort of Col. John Ewing’s
Regiment. Henry and Alexander had been detached to go to Fort
Winnebago for provisions, thus virtually disrupting the army. At
that stage General Atkinson considered it best to dismiss the
independent commands. Accordingly, on July 10th, 1832, the company
of Captain Early was mustered out of the service, and its members,
including Private Abraham Lincoln, started for Dixon’s Ferry with
the detachment of Colonel Ewing, who took with him all the sick and
decrepit men of the army.
The men fell down the river to Dixon’s Ferry, along the same route
pursued by them up that stream, but did not move so rapidly for the
reason that many of the men had lost their horses by death, theft
and one or another cause.
Among those to have lost their horses were Mr. Lincoln and his chum,
George Harrison, but during the march those who had horses cheerfuly
gave up the use of them to the unfortunate, and on the whole a jolly
time of it was had all the way down the river.
On that march up the river Mr. Lincoln’s mess was composed of five
men–himself, his stepbrother, John D. Johnston, G.B. Fanchier,
George Harrison, all privates, and First Corporal R.M. Wyatt, all of
Captain Early’s company. During all of Mr. Lincoln’s service he was
ever ready to march or move upon the phantom enemy. While scouting
up in the swamps around Lake Koshkonong, he was the first to say,
“Let’s go.” He was tireless on the march and overflowing with
anecdote at all times.
The story has been told of him that while returning to Dixon’s Ferry
after his discharge, his shoes were so worn that he preferred going
without them. One morning was particularly chilly, which brought out
the complaint that he was very cold. “No wonder,” replied his
neighbor, “there is so much of you on the ground.” That story may be
truthful, but nevertheless the skeptical listener is forced to
wonder how anyone could suffer to any great extent during the last
few days of July, the hottest of the year. It is also a noteworthy
fact that the story has never been authenticated by the names of
eye-witnesses.
From Dixon’s Ferry Mr. Lincoln, with his companion, George Harrison,
crossed the country to the point on the Illinois River later called
Peru; thence to Peoria, where they bought a canoe in which to paddle
themselves down the Illinois River as far as Havana. While Harrison
supplied the commissary, Mr. Lincoln made an oar or paddle to be
used as motive power–one large enough to endure hard service. Just
below Pekin they overtook two men on a log raft, upon which the two
soldiers were invited. It was meal time, and, western fashion, the
hungry men were invited to join the raftsmen. Cornbread, fish, eggs,
butter, coffee and similar luxuries were lavishly supplied, and from
Mr. Lincoln’s own statements he did justice to the meal.
Arrived at Havana, the canoe was sold without trouble and the two
companions set out overland for New Salem, Lincoln’s long strides
blazing the way and leading poor Harrison a pace he never forgot.
While no military achievement brought glory to Mr. Lincoln, he was
ever after fond of recording his experiences in the Black Hawk War
and relating stories of the ridiculous things which were done in his
campaigns. Repetition by others caused their enlargement, until the
number and variety became very great. Those stories attracted
attention to him in Congress and brought him a considerable
following, and finally a reputation, when he made his celebrated
speech on “Military Coattails,” into which he injected portions of
his Black Hawk War experiences in a way to ridicule the life out of
the military pretensions of Lewis Cass.
Again quoting from Ben. Perley Poore, we find:[292]
“Soon after the presidential campaign of 1848 was opened, Alfred
Iverson, a Democratic Representative from Georgia, made a political
speech, in which he accused the Whigs of having deserted their
financial and tariff principles and of having ‘taken shelter under
the military coattails of General Taylor,’ then their presidential
candidate. This gave Mr. Lincoln as a text for his reply, ‘Military
Coat-tails.’ He had written the heads of what he had intended to say
on a few pages of foolscap paper, which he placed on a friend’s
desk, bordering on an alleyway, which he had obtained permission to
speak from. At first he followed his notes, but as he warmed up, he
left his desk and his notes to stride down the alley toward the
Speaker’s chair, holding his left hand behind him so that he could
now and then shake the tails of his own rusty black broadcloth dress
coat, while he earnestly gesticulated with his long right arm,
shaking the bony index finger at the Democrats on the other side of
the chamber. Occasionally, as he would complete a sentence amid
shouts of laughter, he would return up the alley to his desk,
consult his notes, take a sip of water and start off again.
“Toward the close of his speech Mr. Lincoln poured a torrent of
ridicule upon the military reputation of General Cass, and then
alluded to his own exploits as a soldier in the Black Hawk War,
‘where,’ he continued, ‘I fought, bled and came away. If General
Cass saw any live, fighting Indians at the battle of the Thames,
where he served as aide-de-camp to General Harrison, 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. Mr. Speaker,’ added Mr.
Lincoln, ‘if I should ever conclude to doff whatever our Democratic
friends may suppose there is of black-cockade Federalism about me,
and thereupon they shall take me up as their candidate for the
Presidency, I protest they shall not make fun of me as they have of
General Cass, by attempting to write me into a military hero.’[293]
“Mr. Lincoln received hearty congratulations at the close, many
Democrats joining the Whigs in their complimentary comments. The
speech was pronounced by the older members of the House almost equal
to the celebrated defense of General Harrison by Tom Corwin, in
reply to an attack made on him by a Mr. Crary of Ohio.”
APPENDIX NO. 2.
JEFFERSON DAVIS IN THE BLACK HAWK WAR.
In the year 1832, when the State of Illinois was but fourteen years
of age, there was to be found on the south bank of Rock River,