In July 1861 Logan asked President Lincoln for permission to raise a regiment. The President’s only request was that he remain through the close of the special session of Congress before doing so. Later that month he joined other Congressmen who traveled to witness the First Battle of Bull Run. Despite writing his wife that he would stay at a safe distance Logan “joined” the 2nd Michigan Infantry and fought as a private in his, and the Civil War’s, first great battle.
