Captain Abraham Lincoln

This wayside exhibit portrays Abraham Lincoln's military service. Lincoln volunteered for service in the military along with many others from the local area and, eventually, was elected as captain of his company by the majority of those who had enlisted with him. Almost all of these volunteers came from the Pleasant Plains area and participated in the so-called Black Hawk war.

Abraham Lincoln, a local from New Salem, enlisted in the military along with thousands of others from Illinois during the time period which has been called the Black Hawk war. The office of the Illinois Secretary of State gives a description of Lincoln's time in the military in which he was elected as captain by sixty eight men in his company. According to the document on the Secretary of State's website, this event "gave him more pleasure than any other success in his life." Though Abraham Lincoln's company did not see any fighting during their time, many of the friends made during this time would stay with Lincoln for the rest of his life.

https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/teaching_packages/abraham_lincoln/doc1.html