I've always been of the opinion that the only person who saw Lamon as Lincoln's bodyguard was Lamon. Lincoln never saw a need for one, and rebuffed Stanton until Stanton finally forced the issue. Besides, Lincoln had the entire Army of the Potomac as his bodyguard, that is, when George McClellan wasn't using them.

Best
Rob

Hello all,

I am the screenwriter of "Saving Lincoln." As a lifelong Lincoln buff, I am very excited to find your Symposium.

"Saving Lincoln" is narrated by Ward Hill Lamon, who was the closest person to Lincoln during the White House years. He saw a side of Lincoln nobody else got to see. Lamon was never appointed bodyguard, that is true, but he appointed himself to the position because he saw his old friend was in constant danger. Many historians display a casual contempt for Lamon, because he wasn't brilliant and illustrious like most of the others in Lincoln's circle. He tended to stretch the truth for the sake of a good story. But the fact is, Lincoln loved having Lamon around. Lamon was the only person besides family that Lincoln brought to Washington with him. Lamon spent most days with Lincoln, and at night was known to curl up outside Lincoln's bedroom surrounded by pistols and bowie knives.

One of the reasons Lincoln enjoyed Lamon's company so much is that Lamon played the banjo, sang and told jokes. He was goofy and fun and acted as an anti-depressant for Lincoln, enabling to forget his troubles even if only for a moment.

- Nina Litvak

Very nice summary Nina. He really was an eye witness to so much Lincoln history. It is well we see his story on film.

When I was a student at Eastern Illinois University, there was a professor there named Lavern M. Hamand, who was one of James G. Randall's students. I never had any classes with Hamand, but later I found out that he has written the fullest history of the life of Lamon called Ward Hill Lamon: Lincoln's Particular Friend. Hamand wrote it in 1949, but as far as I know it was never published outside of his dissertation. I happened to see it when I was doing research in Urbana. I would like to see it in full someday, just to get his interpretation of the man.

I have always wished I would have been more cognizant of the fact that Hamand was one of Randall's students and talked with him about the man, but at that time I hadn't the interest in Randall that I have now.

As an aside, when Everton J. Conger came back to Washington after Lincoln's assassination, he wrote of traveling with Lamon back to D.C.

Welcome aboard, Nina.

Best
Rob

Rob, I was able to get a copy of Lavern Hamand's dissertation from the Danville Public Library. It was extremely useful in researching Ward Hill Lamon because there is no other full-length work devoted to him.

"Saving Lincoln" is about Lincoln seen through Lamon's eyes; it is not primarily about Lamon himself, so most of what appears in Hamand's work does not appear in our movie. Lamon himself had quite a colorful life, and wound up trading stories with Mark Twain in Paris in the 1870's.
- Nina

I was called by the "Saving Lincoln" folks about Lamon. They asked "Did Lamon have a West Virginia accent?" Lamon was born in Virginia in 1828. West Virginia didn't become a state until 1863, long after Lamon had moved to Illinois at age 18.

Bob O'Connor
Author -- "The Virginian Who Might Have Saved Lincoln" the only book ever written about Lamon.
Editor -- "The Life of Abraham Lincoln As President" the only book ever written by Lamon.

Bob,

Perhaps they meant a western Virginia accent? By the time of his move at age 18, I would think he would have acquired somewhat of a dialect depending on exactly where in Virginia he originated. I know nothing about Ward Hill Lamon's early years. Where exactly was he born and raised - using current geography?

I married into West Virginia stock from the area around Fairmont, and I don't recall any discernible accent from the natives of that area.

I agree, Laurie! I have friends from Morgantown, W Va and they may have a slight twang - but nothing much else above the ordinary.....

Does Lamon have any direct descendants living today?

Lamon had only one (surviving) child, a daughter named Dorothy Lamon Teillard. Dorothy did not have any children so Lamon does not have any direct descendants. I am in touch with a guy named Ward Lamon, he is a relative but not a direct descendant of Ward Hill Lamon.

For more info on Ward Hill Lamon and the infamous Antietam episode, check out Meg Thompson's excellent post on Emerging Civil War: http://emergingcivilwar.com/2012/10/01/a...er-3-1862/

Thanks, will do!

Greetings, fellow members of the Lincoln Discussion Symposium! We have good news to share about Saving Lincoln!

Recall that Saving Lincoln is the true story of Abraham Lincoln and his bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon, featuring sets created from actual Civil War photographs through a process I invented called CineCollage.

The movie will open in theaters on February 15 including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington DC, Lake Park, FL, Wilmington, DE, and Boulder, CO. We'll be announcing more cities soon.

Saving Lincoln will debut on Feb 11 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield as part of the annual Abraham Lincoln Association Symposium. This screening is open to the public, though seating is limited. I will be appearing and doing a Q&A session after the movie.

I will also be appearing in New York on February 16, and doing a Q&A after the 7:40 showing at the Quad Cinema. It is a great honor to announce that I will be joined by Harold Holzer during that session.

Right now we are running a Kickstarter campaign to support and expand the film's release, and to connect directly with our audience. Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects, and our campaign has become a big success thanks to the support of folks who are as passionate about Abraham Lincoln as we are. There are great rewards for every level of support, starting at $5.

Our most popular reward level includes the DVD and other gifts for $25 (including shipping), and our backers will be among the first to watch the DVD. At higher levels, you can get your name in the credits, and there are even a limited number of tickets available for the Red Carpet Premiere in LA. What's great is that people can choose exactly how much support they want to show for this unique film.

You can see our trailer and learn more about our innovative approach to filmmaking and film distribution by visiting our Kickstarter page: http://kck.st/RV4QOh

We'd be honored to have members of the Lincoln Discussion Symposium join us. Please note however, that these opportunities end when our Kickstarter campaign closes on January 29th at 6:00pm Pacific.

Thereafter, the best place to learn about the film is SavingLincoln.com. We also post new content every day about Abraham Lincoln, Ward Hill Lamon, Civil War veterans and Civil War photography at Facebook.com/SavingLincoln, where we are rapidly approaching 50,000 fans.

Best wishes for much success with this film. You have certainly approached the history through a different angle by focusing on Lamon. We read about him in most of the Lincoln books, especially related to the Baltimore Plot and later threats, but he's one of history's characters that I think we have overlooked.

When you have available information on the sale of the DVD, please let me know. We will probably be interested in retailing them at Surratt House Museum.

That's wonderful, L Verge! We agree about Lamon being overlooked and we'd love to work with you on getting the DVD out there. We'll also be publishing a script book, and new version of Lamon's Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, both illustrated with wet collodion photographs from the Library of Congress. If you wouldn't mind, please email me at yourpalsal [at] savinglincoln [dot] com, so I can pass your info over to the right folks for that.

Salvadore, we wish you all the best with the movie. Lake Park is about 135 miles from where we live so seeing the movie will be a nice day trip for us. It's not too far from where our daughter attended college in Boca Raton so we are used to the drive.