Serving with Lincoln:
Finding Your Ancestor’s Indian War Military Service
in Pension Files
November 17, 2016 By Ken Nelson for FamilySearch.org
On the morning of February 11, 1861, the president-elect and future commander-in-chief, Abraham Lincoln, left Springfield for his journey to Washington DC.
States in the South had already begun to secede from the Union, and the possibility of war loomed large on the horizon. Lincoln had captained a company of local militia during the Black Hawk Indian War, and now he would lead a nation.
Many of Lincoln’s friends gathered at the Great Western railway station to see him off that morning.
A little before 8 a.m., Lincoln emerged from the station and made his way to the train, pausing briefly to address the crowd.
Perhaps Royal Clary or Travis Elmore, veterans from Sangamon County who served under Lincoln, stood in the crowd. The History of Sangamon County, Illinois, published in 1882, gives the following account of Lincoln’s remarks at the station:
On the morning of February 11, 1861, the president-elect and future commander-in-chief, Abraham Lincoln, left Springfield for his journey to Washington DC.
States in the South had already begun to secede from the Union, and the possibility of war loomed large on the horizon. Lincoln had captained a company of local militia during the Black Hawk Indian War, and now he would lead a nation.
Many of Lincoln’s friends gathered at the Great Western railway station to see him off that morning.
A little before 8 a.m., Lincoln emerged from the station and made his way to the train, pausing briefly to address the crowd.
Perhaps Royal Clary or Travis Elmore, veterans from Sangamon County who served under Lincoln, stood in the crowd. The History of Sangamon County, Illinois, published in 1882, gives the following account of Lincoln’s remarks at the station:
Friends, no one, who has ever been placed in a like position can understand my feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I feel at this parting.
For more than a quarter of century I have lived among you, and during all that time I have received nothing but kindness at your hands.
Here I have lived from my youth until now, I am an old man.
Here the most sacred ties of earth were assumed; here all my children were born; and here one of them lies buried.
To you, dear friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am.
All the strange, checkered past seems to crowd now upon my mind.
Today I leave you; I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved upon General Washington.
Unless the great God which assisted him, shall be with and aid me, I must fail.
But if the same omniscient mind and the same Almighty arm that directed and protected him, shall guide and support me, I shall not fail, I shall succeed.
Let us all pray that the God of our fathers my not forsake us now. To Him I commend you all.
Permit me to ask that with equal sincerity and faith you will all invoke His wisdom and guidance for me.
With these words I must leave you—for how long I know not.
Friends, one and all, I must now bid you an affectionate farewell (History, 306–7).
During those years in Sangamon County, Abraham Lincoln was elected captain of a militia company during the Black Hawk Indian War, but who were the men under his command, and what were their names?
What stories could they tell about their commander and where could such stories possibly be found?
First we need to know their names.
A roster of Illinois soldiers published in 1882 provided the answer. On pages 100–101 of Isaac H. Elliott’s Record of the Services of Illinois Soldiers in the Black Hawk War, 1831–32 and in the Mexican War, 1846–8 are the names in Abraham Lincoln’s company, 4th Regiment of Mounted Volunteers, and Brigadier General Samuel Whiteside’s Brigade. They served for about 30 days between April and May 1832.
With their names and military unit identified, we can search the index to Indian War pensions from the National Archives to identify veterans and widows who applied for pensions.
The searchable index to the pension files is available on FamilySearch.
The index will also tell us the year and state the veteran or widow was living at the time of the application.
It took just a few minutes to locate Travis Elmore and nine other veterans or widows from Lincoln’s company who had applied for pensions.
Congress had passed a service pension act in 1892 for veterans who had served for thirty days and for widows of veterans who served in the Black Hawk War, Creek War, Cherokee disturbances, and Florida War between 1832 and 1842. Later pension acts would expand eligibility by adding additional Indian Wars and conflicts. Eventually, over 50,000 veterans and widows applied.
Pension files have been an important source not only for family history information but also to learn about an ancestor’s military service.
There could be records of the veteran or his comrades describing their military service in the files.
The Indian Wars and other wars before World War I can be accessed by contacting the National Archives in Washington, DC.
Abraham Lincoln’s military service as a militia captain would later help Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s widow, receive a pension.
Mary, who died in 1882, 10 years before the Indian War pension act, was granted a pension by a special act of Congress in 1870 for her husband’s service not only as president of the United States during the Civil War but also for his service in the Illinois Black Hawk War.
Researchers familiar with looking for pensions of an ancestor’s military service in the Revolutionary or Civil War may not be aware of the possibilities of an ancestor serving in a local Indian War or conflict. Searching the Indian War pension index on FamilySearch may open doors to new branches or stories on your family tree. You may be surprised who you find. Perhaps you had an ancestor who served with Captain Abraham Lincoln.
Click here for the digital book link to the published roster.
(This link takes a few moments to get all the pages up.)
Click here for the digital book link to the published roster.
(This link takes a few moments to get all the pages up.)