Ward Hill Lamon (January 6, 1828 – May 7, 1893) was an American law enforcement officer who was a personal friend and self-appointed bodyguard of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. Lamon was absent the night Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865, having been sent by Lincoln to Richmond, Virginia.
Background Lamon's family name was spelled by some relatives with an "e" and by others with an "a", and was pronounced as "lemon" regardless of spelling. Lamon's relationship with Lincoln has been traced by Clint Clay Tilton in Lincoln and Lamon. Lamon was born near Winchester, Virginia, studied medicine for two years, and moved to Danville, Illinois, when he was 19 to live with relatives.Tilton, Clint Clay: "Lincoln and Lamon: Partners and Friends," Publication of the Illinois State Historical Library, page 175. Phillips Brothers State Printers, 1931. He attended the University of Louisville to receive his law degree and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1851.Hamand, L: "Lincoln's Particular Friend," Essays in Illinois History, page 19. Southern Illinois University Press, 1968.
In 1850, he moved back to Virginia, married Angelina Turner, and then returned to Illinois to practice law. Angelina was a daughter of Ehud and Priscilla Strode Turner, whose house at Beddington, West Virginia, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 as the Priscilla Strode Turner House. Angelina died in April 1859, leaving a daughter, Dorothy, who was raised in Danville by Lamon's sister, Mrs. William Morgan.Tilton, page 183.
In November 1860, Lamon married Sally Logan, daughter of Judge Stephen T. Logan.Tilton, page 188. Logan had been Lincoln's law partner from 1841 to 1844.Lawson, S: "Logan, Stephen Trigg, American National Biography Online http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00636.html
Early years with Lincoln Lamon's professional association with Lincoln started in 1852. Lamon became the prosecuting attorney for the Old Eighth Judicial district and moved to Bloomington, Illinois, in 1858.Tilton, pages 178-9, 182. While Lamon had Southern sympathies and his hatred of abolitionism set him apart from Lincoln, they remained friends, despite their very different characters."I Beg Leave to Offer. . . Abraham Lincoln", The New York Times, May 15, 1960.
Lamon joined the then-young Republican Party and campaigned for Lincoln in 1860. Lincoln was up against New York Senator William Seward for the Republican nomination. Lamon proved his friendship by printing up extra tickets for the convention to fill the hall with Lincoln supporters."I Beg Leave to Offer. . . Abraham Lincoln", The New York Times, May 15, 1960.
When Lincoln was elected president, Lamon hoped for a foreign diplomatic post but received a letter from his friend that said, "Dear Hill, I need you. I want you to go to Washington with me and be prepared for a long stay."Tilton, page 189. Lamon then accompanied him as he traveled from Springfield, Illinois, to Washington D.C. in February 1861. This trip proved to be eventful.
Lamon and the Baltimore Plot, 1861
Lamon was a physically imposing man, and during the presidency, often took it upon himself to guard Lincoln. In February 1861, detective Allan Pinkerton uncovered a plot whereby Lincoln would be assassinated when he arrived in Baltimore, on his way to his inauguration in Washington. Pinkerton advised Lincoln that rather than ride publicly through the city between train stations as planned, he should take a midnight train straight through to Washington. Lamon was the sole friend chosen to accompany him.
Lamon and Pinkerton famously clashed over the President-elect's protection. Lamon offered Lincoln "a Revolver and a Bowie Knife" but Pinkerton protested that he "would not for the world have it said that Mr. Lincoln had to enter the national Capital armed".Cuthbert, N: Lincoln and the Baltimore Plot, 1861, page 79. Huntington Library, 1949. The two men further disagreed over Lamon's desire to alert the Chicago Journal to their early arrival in Washington because Pinkerton, more prudently, wished not to publicize their change of plans. In Pinkerton's account of the plot, he wrote disparagingly of Lamon, referring to him as a "brainless, egotistical fool".Cuthbert, page 86.
Pinkerton allowed William Herndon to copy his report, which was obtained by Lamon when he purchased Herndon's papers to write his Life of Abraham Lincoln.Mackay, J: Allan Pinkerton: The First Detective, page 104. John Wiley & Sons, 1996 When Herndon first requested copies of Pinkerton's report, Pinkerton agreed only on the condition that certain material be kept confidential, specifically naming his remarks about Lamon.Wilson, D. and Davis R: Herndon's Informants, page 264. University of Illinois Press, 1998.
Lincoln was secreted through Baltimore during the night. The train carrying Mrs. Lincoln and others went through Baltimore unharmed the next day, despite the claim of Pinkerton that hand grenades and firebombs would be used to attack the train.Lamon, Ward Hill. The Life of Abraham Lincoln: His Birth to His Inauguration as President. Boston, MA: James R. Osgood and Company, 1872, pp. 511-529.
Lamon summed up his disbelief in the plot in the biography: "It is perfectly manifest that there was no conspiracy, – no conspiracy of a hundred, of fifty, of twenty, of three; no definite purpose in the heart of even one man to murder Mr. Lincoln in Baltimore."Lamon, W., Life of Abraham Lincoln, page 513. James R. Osgood and Company, 1872.
Lamon as U.S. Marshal and his relationship with Lincoln 1861–1865 Shortly after his inauguration in 1861, Lincoln appointed Lamon United States Marshal of the District of Columbia. He resigned his commission in June 1865. One of Lamon's first acts as Marshal was to visit Fort Sumter, South Carolina in March 1861, to meet with Major Robert Anderson, commander of the fort, and Governor Francis Pickens. Reports vary on Lamon's responsibilities with regard to that visit.
One account chronicles that Lamon was just one of a few emissaries sent by Lincoln, the first being Captain Gustavus Fox, who went to determine if Fort Sumter could be relieved by sea.Oedel, H: "Lincoln Takes the Pulse of the Confederacy at Charleston in March, 1861," page 158. Lincoln Herald, 1973. Lamon was sent concurrently with another Illinois friend of Lincoln's, Stephen Hurlbut, with the implication that Lamon was sent to take the focus off of Hurlbut's visit, as Hurlbut was there to measure anti-Union sentiment in Charleston. He discovered it was high.Oedel, page 159. Lamon incurred Lincoln's displeasure by meeting with Governor Pickens and informing him of the government's interest in withdrawing from Fort Sumter.Oedel, page 160.
Another account represents Lamon as traveling with the full confidence of Lincoln: "It called for courage and the trip was made over the objection of Secretary Seward. 'Mr. Secretary,' said Lincoln, 'I have known to be in many a close place and he's never been in one he didn't get out of. By Jing. I'll risk it. Go, Lamon and God bless you.'"Tilton, page 198.
Another account characterizes Lamon as being under Seward's influence and angering Lincoln: "It was under Seward's influence that he actually told Governor Pickens that he had come to arrange for the withdrawal of the garrison, and that after his return he wrote the governor that he would be back in a few days to assist with the evacuation. He also gave Major Anderson the impression that no relief would be attempted. All this was outrageous, and when Lincoln heard of Lamon's letter to Pickens, he indignantly denied that the man possessed any authority to make such a statement."Nevins, A. The War for the Union, page 54. Scribner, 1959.
Missions to Fort Sumter aside, the marshal's position was not an onerous one and afforded Lamon legitimate access to the President. What Lamon took upon himself, was to represent himself as Lincoln's bodyguard, which he did out of friendship rather than the requirements of the position.Hamand, page 27.
Lamon took this so seriously that his friend Leonard Swett recounted that in the three months he stayed with Lamon in the Fall of 1864, he saw Lamon leave every night to go to the White House where he patrolled the grounds.Hamand, pages 30-31 Presidential secretary John Hay adds to this portrait of devotion by noting in his diary that one night he observed Lamon wrap himself up in his cloak and lie down to sleep in front of Lincoln's bedroom door.Hamand, page 31. Lamon was not in Washington on the night of Lincoln's assassination, being on assignment in Richmond. In his Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, Lamon reveals that before he left for Richmond, he implored the President not to "go out at night after [he] was gone, particularly to the theatre."Lamon, Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, 1847–1865, page 280. A.C. McClurg and Company, 1895. After the assassination, Lamon accompanied the funeral procession to Springfield, Illinois.
Lamon as Lincoln's biographer
After Lincoln's death, Lamon published two books about the late President, one posthumously. The more famous of the two is a biography that was largely ghostwritten by Chauncey Black, the son of former Attorney General of the United States Jeremiah Black. The elder Black was Lamon's law partner from 1865 until 1879. The book, published in 1872 by James R. Osgood and Company of Boston under the title The Life of Abraham Lincoln; From his Birth to his Inauguration as President, contained allegations and personal information about Lincoln that were deemed scandalous by nineteenth century society.Lamon, W: Life of Abraham Lincoln, page 486. James R.Osgood and Company, 1872.
It was a financial failure. One of the most shocking claims was that Lincoln was not a man of faith: "Mr. Lincoln was never a member of any church, nor did he believe in the divinity of Christ, or the inspiration of the Scriptures in the sense understood by evangelical Christians."Lamon, W: Life of Abraham Lincoln, page 486. James R.Osgood and Company, 1872. The basis of the book was the papers of William Herndon, which Lamon purchased for either $2,000 or $4,000.Barton, W: The Soul of Abraham Lincoln, page 129. George H. Doran Co., 1920.Donald, D: Lincoln's Herndon, page 253. Alfred A. Knopf, 1948.
Shortly after his death, Lamon's daughter collected and edited many of his unpublished writings about Lincoln into a biography of the president, Recollections of Abraham Lincoln (1895). In Recollections, Lamon reversed his earlier denial of the Baltimore plot of 1861, writing, "It is now an acknowledged fact that there was never a moment from the day he crossed the Maryland line, up until the time of his assassination, that he was not in danger of death by violence, and that his life was spared until the night of the 14th of April, 1865, only through the ceaseless and watchful care of the guards thrown around him."Lamon, W: Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, page 47. The authenticity of this book is generally more highly regarded by the scholarly community than is the earlier volume by Lamon and Black.
According to Lamon, three days before he was shot, Lincoln related a dream in which he wandered the White House searching for the source of mournful sounds: