The Black Hawk War
Abraham Lincoln owned two parcels of land in the state of Iowa but never visited either one. He received these tracts from the U.S. government for service as an Illinois volunteer in the Black Hawk War of 1832. It was not until the 1850s that Congress authorized land bounties to the war veterans. Lincoln received 40 acres following the act of September 28, 1850, and 120 acres after the act of March 3, 1855.