Abraham Lincoln held the rank of captain during the Black Hawk War. He volunteered for the Illinois militia in 1832, when he was a 23-year-old former shopkeeper living in New Salem.
On April 21, 1832, Lincoln’s fellow volunteers elected him captain of their company, giving him command of roughly 60 to 70 men. Militia companies commonly elected their own officers, so his rank came directly from the vote of the volunteers rather than from prior military experience.
Lincoln served as captain of a company in the 4th Illinois Regiment of Mounted Volunteers. He later left that command and reenlisted as a private in another unit, eventually completing his brief service as part of an independent spy company.
He never fought in a major battle during the war, though he witnessed the aftermath of engagements and helped bury militia dead. Lincoln later joked about his limited military experience, but he remembered being elected captain as one of the proudest moments of his life.