Lincoln Mr. Lincoln's Protector...........or Critic?

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Posted on Facebook by the Ford's Theatre National Historic Site

"Dear Hill, I need you. I want you to go to Washington with me and be prepared for a long stay."

On January 6, 1828, Ward Hill Lamon was born. He travelled the Illinois court circuit with Abraham Lincoln and befriended him. Lincoln asked Lamon to accompany him to the inauguration in Washington, DC, 1861. Pinkerton Agents uncovered the 'Baltimore Plot' on the train-ride to DC, and Lamon feared for Lincoln's life. Lamon gave Lincoln the brass knuckles and goggles below for protection. Lamon, tall, strong, and imposing, became Lincoln's personal bodyguard. Personal conviction and sense of loyalty drove this Virginian to sleep outside of Lincoln's door in the White House.

On the night of the assassination at Ford's Theatre, Lamon was on assignment in Richmond, VA. He lamented the fact that he wasn't there. He dispatched Stanton and offered his services, but Stanton declined. In Lamon's recollections, he even warns Lincoln to not "go out at night after [he] was gone, particularly to the theatre." Lamon's later life is also confusing. His recollections and books were critical of Lincoln. Regional politics and the hired ghostwriter perhaps influenced his true voice. Ward Hill Lamon remains an intriguing part of the Lincoln White House. He went from friend and protector to critic. Mary Todd went so far as to say, "Now, that good man [Lamon] is gone, he would draw the lifeblood from his loved & deeply affected widow [to] enrich his coffers."

Ward Hill Lamon photographed in Matthew Brady's studio

 

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Brass Knuckles in the Ford's Theatre NPS collection given from Lamon to Lincoln on the night Lincoln passed through Baltimore in 1861

 

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Goggles in the Ford's Theatre NPS collection given from Lamon to Lincoln on the night Lincoln passed through Baltimore in 1861

 

[Sheltowee]

And what were the goggles for?

 

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And what were the goggles for?

The NPS identifies them as artillery goggles. Doesn't state their purpose. Some form of protection I would reckon.

 

[Pete Longstreet]

It seems Lincoln was a good judge of character, especially when it came to letting someone get close to him. I haven't read much of what Lamon had to say after the war, but a person's actions or words during the present time seem to hold more weight than what they say years after. From what I read, Lamon was a dear friend to Lincoln. He may have been critical years after, but his actions while he was with Lincoln shows why Lincoln trusted him.

 

[EHParks]

artillery goggles

TIL about "artillery goggles". Civil War Artillery Goggles Train station soot, steam, sand thrown in the eyes and black powder might have been on Lamon's mind. Abe Lincoln was known as a hell of a brawler and wrestler in his day. He knew what he was getting into. It's why I shun actors who try and portray him as some "shrinking violet" (looking at you Fonda). The post-war notion that Lincoln slunk into the Capitol beshawled and shuddering in fear was nonsense.