Ward Hill Lamon - Perceptions of Lamon

Perceptions of Lamon

Some contemporaries and biographers of Lincoln tend to treat Lamon with a certain casual contempt. In 1862, during his tenure as Marshal, a number of senators called for his removal from office. Although Lincoln refused this demand, the Senate was able to decrease some of Lamon's official duties and thus reduce his income. Allan Pinkerton's opinion of him was voiced above, during the Baltimore Plot. Historian Allan Nevins in The War for the Union characterizes Lamon as "a big loquacious bumbler of more self-assurance than discretion". Even one of Nevin's footnotes that discusses the controversial trip to Charleston in 1861 further dismisses Lamon: "Lamon's papers in the Huntington Library throw no light on the subject except to confirm his general ineptness." A few carry the flag for Lamon, however. In 1931, Clint Clay Tilton repeatedly affirms Lamon's generosity and good humor and dubs him "the Cavalier". When Lamon campaigned for Lincoln's re-election in 1864, a song was written with this verse remaining:

A great good man is Ward Hill Lamon;
Abe is Pythias; he is Damon;
He's the President's protector,
He's his political protector,
Who?
Ward Hill Lamon. Ward Hill Lamon.

Lamon's story is told in the film Saving Lincoln, which details the threats against Lincoln from Lamon's point-of-view.