Did Lincoln Meet Jefferson Davis in DeKalb County-- Part 1: Black Hawk War

From the May 14, 2008, DeKalb County Life "Did Abe Lincoln ever set foot in DeKalb County?"  by Barry Schrader.

In my June 18 post, I mentioned that DeKalb County, Illinois, was going to put up a marker where Abraham Lincoln met future president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, in DeKalb County during the Black Hawk War.

The answer to the article's title is yes.  Whether he met Jefferson Davis is not likely.

Abraham Lincoln was living in New Salem, Illinois, when he answered the call for volunteers to chase after Sauk Indian Chief Black Hawks band of braves during the Black Hawk War of 1832.  He mustered in for 30 days service in Beardstown then marched to Rock Island.

There, he was mustered into service as part of the Illinois Militia on May 9, 1832.  Then, he moved to Dixon, Illinois, where he was named captain of a company.

From there, his company went to Stillman Valley to bury the dead from the ill-fated Battle of Stillman's Run.

--Cooter