[17]. There were many prominent Americans in the Black Hawk War, with some of whom Lincoln became acquainted. Among the best known were General Robert Anderson; Colonel Zachary Taylor; General Scott, afterwards candidate for President, and Lieutenant-General; Henry Dodge, Governor of the Territory of Wisconsin, and United States Senator; Hon. William L. D. Ewing and Hon. Sidney Breese, both United States Senators from Illinois; William S. Hamilton, a son of Alexander Hamilton; Colonel Nathan Boone, son of Daniel Boone; Lieutenant Albert Sydney Johnston, afterwards a Confederate general. Jefferson Davis was not in the war, according to the muster-rolls of his company, which report him absent on furlough from March 26 to August 18, 1832.
[18]. “Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln.” Edited by Allen Thorndike Rice, 1886.
[19]. This incident was told by Lincoln to Mr. A. J. Conant the artist, who in 1860 painted his portrait in Springfield. Mr. Conant, in order to catch Mr. Lincoln’s animated expression, had engaged him in conversation, and had questioned him about his early life; and it was in the course of their conversation that this incident came out. It is to be found in a delightful and suggestive article entitled, “My Acquaintance with Abraham Lincoln,” contributed by Mr. Conant to the “Liber Scriptorum,” and by his permission quoted here.
[20]. The date here given is wrong; the marriage took place on June 12, 1806. The error arose in copying the record the first time, the date of the marriage following that of Thomas Lincoln being taken instead of the one before his name.
[21]. The memoranda for Lincoln’s genealogy (page [223]), and the introduction to this work, as well as the first chapter, show that we do know now, beyond a doubt, who and what Lincoln’s ancestors were.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
- Silently corrected typographical errors.
- Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.