Lincoln’s Bodyguard: Ward Hill Lamon

“Saving Lincoln” is not to be confused with Steven Spielberg’s movie “Lincoln,” which premiered in late November 2012. “Saving Lincoln,” directed by Chilean filmmaker Salvador Litvak and written by his wife, Nina Davidovich Litvak, is the story of Abraham Lincoln as seen through the eyes of his personal bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon.

Of interest to West Virginians, Lamon was born in Summit Point in Jefferson County, lived in Bunker Hill and Martinsburg and is buried in Gerrardstown, formerly towns in Virginia (pre-1863) and now all in Berkeley County, WV.

Lamon is a little-known historical figure who was with Lincoln every day throughout his presidency. Lincoln called Lamon his “particular friend” from their long association that pre-dated the Civil War and his presidency.

Lamon was an attorney on the 8th Judicial Circuit of Illinois and an associate of Lincoln. Although different in almost every way, the two men formed a bond that lasted until Lincoln’s death in April 1865. The two were law partners in Illinois from 1852-1856, and Lamon worked behind the scenes on the committee to help Lincoln win the nomination for president at the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1860.

When it came time for the inauguration, Lincoln took three men with him to Washington: his two secretaries, John Hay and John Nickolay, and Ward Hill Lamon. Lamon’s official duties were as U.S. Federal Marshal for the District of Columbia; his unofficial duties were to be Lincoln’s personal bodyguard. He reported directly to the president.

His unofficial duties suited Lamon well. He was 6 feet 4 inches and weighed close to 260 pounds. He drank, swore and beat people up regularly. He also had on his person at all times armaments that weighed about 60 pounds and included two Colt .44 pistols, two Bowie knives, a set of brass knuckles, a black jack and an eight-inch sword in the handle of his cane. Lamon was credited with killing a man with his fist as part of his official duties when the man resisted arrest.

Lamon’s protection was needed prior to Lincoln’s arrival in Washington for the March 4, 1861 inauguration. Detective Allan Pinkerton had warned the president-elect that an assassination attempt would be made during his travels by train through Baltimore en route to Washington. Lamon took charge and secreted Lincoln out of Harrisburg, PA, and through Baltimore, MD, in the middle of the night to avoid the secessionist plotters in the city. When the Lincoln inaugural train entered Baltimore the following day at the time published in the newspapers, Lincoln was not on board. He was already safely in Washington.

It was Lamon who provided security at the dedication of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg on November 19, 1863, and introduced the president before what we now know as the famous Gettysburg Address. The only known photograph at that event shows Lamon standing beside Lincoln.

So where was Lamon when the president needed him the most at Ford’s Theater on the night of “Our American Cousins” on April 14? The president had sent Lamon on an errand to Richmond on April 11. Lamon protested, telling the president he should stay in Washington because even though the war had ended on Sunday of that same week, there was still danger lurking in Washington. With even greater insistence, Lincoln ordered Lamon to proceed to reconstruction meetings in Virginia. On his way out the door, Lamon urged Lincoln to stay at the White House while his bodyguard was gone. The president ignored his advice. You know the rest of the story.

Where was the secret service during all of this? The secret service’s charge in the 1860s was to track down counterfeiters. In fact, they were not assigned the duty of guarding the president until Teddy Roosevelt.

Furthermore, why does the world not know about Ward Hill Lamon? Lamon was known as a braggart, and historians have not been kind to him. They tend to discount what he said even though he had closer access to Lincoln as president than anyone else.

A book Lamon was credited with writing called “The Life of Abraham Lincoln: From His Birth To His Inauguration was highly criticized by Robert Lincoln, the president’s son. Robert was self-appointed to be in charge of his father’s legacy and insisted that all publications about his father be scrutinized and edited by him prior to publication. Lamon refused to allow him to see the manuscript, so Robert retaliated by purchasing and burning most copies of the book. One of the few remaining copies of that book is part of the Lamon Collection at the Berkeley County Historical Society in Martinsburg, WV.

Following Lincoln’s death, Lamon had the dubious challenge of being marshal-in-charge of the Lincoln funeral in Washington and the Lincoln funeral train back to Illinois. Lamon eventually returned to practice law in both Martinsburg and Gerrardstown. His Martinsburg law office was located on the northeast corner of Burke and Queen streets.

Lamon was one of four candidates considered for nomination as governor of West Virginia in July 1876, but bowed out and threw his support to General Nathan Goff, who won the nomination. Lamon ran unsuccessfully for Congress that same year, losing to B. F. Martin by a vote of 1,840 to 1,618.

Ward Hill Lamon died at his brother Robert’s home in Martinsburg on May 7, 1893, at the age of 65 and is buried in the Gerrardstown Presbyterian Cemetery. His daughter, Dolly Lamon Teillard, wrote a book in 1895 that she credited her father with writing called “Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, 1847-1865,” which was based on her father’s papers. She sold about 2,500 of her father’s papers, including an unpublished manuscript he wrote entitled “The Life of Abraham Lincoln As President,” which was sold in 1912 for $20,000. The collection is now owned by The Huntington Library in San Marino, CA.