Lincoln writes and signs a note certifying that John M. Rutledge "served as a private in the company under my command" during the Black Hawk War. Lincoln signs the note, "A Lincoln. Capt". Certificate of Discharge for John M. Rutledge, 8 August 1832, RG 15, Entry 26: Records of the Bureau of Pensions and the Pension Service, Bureau of Pensions Correspondence and Pension Bounty Land Case Files Relating to Military Service Performed Between 1775 and 1861, Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, Case Files of Bounty Land Warrant Applications Based On Service Between 1812 and 1855 and Disapproved Applications Based on Revolutionary War Service, 1800-1900, National Archives Building, Washington, DC