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Lincoln and his Marshal
They snuck into the city. Abraham Lincoln, soon to be inaugurated President of the collapsing Union, arrived unannounced in Washington, D.C., early on the morning of February 23. 186 1 , nine days before his March 4 inauguration. Ward Hill Lamon, soon to be commissioned the United States Marshal for the District of Columbia, accompanied the President-elect. He acted as Lincoln's personal bodyguard while Allan Pinkerton and his detectives provided general security. Armed with a brace of pistols and a Bowie knife, Lamon was determined to prevent any trouble from his fellow Southerners. A Virginian by birth, the future marshal was Lincoln's friend and business associate. They had known each other for 20 years. While Lamon devoted himself to serving and protecting the Yankee president, his mother and brothers transferred their loyalty to the south.
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| U.S. Marshal Ward Hill Lamon, District of Columbia, 1861-1865 |
| Lamon watched with dismay as
the federal experiment soured over the election of his friend. He urged
the new president to distribute "circulars of appeal" to the
Southern people "to stand by the flag, to stand by the Union." Desperate
for some way to stop the Southern states from seceding. Lamon also
recommended that the new president complete the construction of the
Treasury Building. Such an action, Lamon felt, would prove to the South
and most foreign nations "the confidence of the U.S. sustaining herself
and will give at the same time many idlers employment, thereby
identifying them to some extent with the government." Yet, rebuilding
the Treasury building was hardly enough to keep the Union
together. The suggestion reflected Lamon's desperation as state
legislatures throughout the South passed resolutions of secession.
Federalism failed. South Carolina withdrew from the Union first. The state legislature passed its declaration of secession |
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on December 20, 1860, less than two months
after Lincoln's election. Having announced its separation from the other
states, it demanded that Union forces withdraw from its territory.
In the middle of Charleston harbor, Major Robert Anderson and his
command refused to evacuate Fort Sumter. A stalemate ensued when South
Carolinian troops besieged the island fort. At the end of March 1861,
Marshal Lamon hurried from Washington to South Carolina. Although he
assured Governor Thomas Pickens that he was acting
privately, without charter from Lincoln, that is doubtful. The President
at least knew of Lamon's intentions and probably gave his blessing to
the mission. Lamon obtained a pass from Governor Pickens allowing him
to cross through the besieging forces and talk with Major Anderson. The
governor sent his aide, Colonel Duryea, with Lamon to ensure
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