In the fall of 1863, the future of the Union was still in doubt. The North had won substantial victories in July at Gettysburg and Vicksburg but was clobbered at Chickamauga in September. The upcoming Ohio governor's election was crucial. David Tod, the current governor, traveled to Washington to meet with Secretary of War Henry Stanton to discuss how to raise more Ohio men for the Union Army.
The discussion turned to President Lincoln's personal security. Both men were very concerned by what they saw as inadequate protection for the president. There was no FBI or Secret Service at this time, and no other government agency was tasked to protect the president.
Lincoln was not without some measure of protection, however. The Pinkerton Private Detective Agency provided some security for the president but was mostly an investigative organization.
Ward Hill Lamon was the president's personal bodyguard. Lamon and Lincoln were long-time friends from the days when they were law partners back in Illinois. Despite having no law enforcement experience, Lincoln appointed him U.S. Marshall for Washington D.C. Lamon was utterly devoted to Lincoln and was known to have thrown his massive six foot four, two hundred sixty pound body on the floor outside the president's bedroom at night. He was always armed with two pistols and a Bowie knife.
Lincoln downplayed the threat. He insisted on hosting large events at the White House that were generally open to the public. There was virtually no vetting of the guests at these events. Lincoln often left the White House in the evenings to walk unescorted over to the War Department's telegraph office to read the day's news from the front.
Governor Tod offered a solution for the situation. He proposed that the State of Ohio provide a company of cavalry to act as a personal bodyguard for the president. Stanton accepted.
The plan called upon each of the counties to provide one man to the unit. The governor developed a candidate profile. He must possess a fine physique-preferably at least 6 foot tall. He had to be a man of good character, education, and ideally have some military experience. Sixty-five counties responded to the governor's callup and sent at least one man, some more to join the guard. (Clermont County appears not to have sent anyone.)
The unit rendezvoused in late December of 1863 in Columbus and was called the Ohio Union Light Guard. It was put under the operational control of Secretary Stanton. Its mission was to guard the White House when the president was there and to escort him on his trips, especially to and from the Old Soldiers Home where he often went to escape the stifling Washington summer heat.
On February 10, 1864, the president was on the second floor of the White House. At 8:30 P.M. a fire alarm was raised. Looking out the window, Lincoln saw the brick White House stable engulfed in flames. Private Robert McBride saw the president streaking towards the stable. He came to a 3 1/2 foot high hedge. Without hesitation nor losing stride, the 55 year-old Lincoln "sprang over like a deer'. Reaching the stable, Lincoln asked if the horses had been saved. Told that they had not been, he threw open the door. Despite the flames blazing throughout, he tried to enter, but was restrained. The captain of the guard, fearing that the fire was a Confederate plot to assassinate the president, escorted the distraught Lincoln back to the White House. McBride went inside the mansion and saw the president weeping. His son Willy's horse-the last link to his deceased boy-died. A disgruntled former White House employee was arrested for arson, and was released. Though thought to be suspicious, no one was held accountable for the fire.
One month later the president and the first lady hosted a glitzy reception at the White House. All of the Washington glitterati-politicians, foreign ambassadors, top military brass-were there. McBride and his comrades felt out of place, but were warmly welcomed by the president and the first lady. A stir was raised when two officers wearing field-stained uniforms came into the room. "The first officer,a major general, sported a close-cropped brownish colored mustache and beard that covered his face". Many at the reception did not know who he was. But Lincoln did. He walked over and introduced himself to the newly minted Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant. The crowd quickly closed around the president and his latest commanding general. McBride and others formed "a sort of football wedge" to clear a path for Lincoln, Grant and Secretary of State William Seward. Grant, muddy boots and all, stepped onto a couch and gave a short speech.
Grant's Overland Campaign in the spring and summer of 1864, was a hard fought and bloody affair. The desperate fighting made the men anxious. They felt they should be at the front where they could make a difference. These thoughts were made known to the president. Lincoln responded with a story of the farmer who couldn't understand why the "Good Lord" put a curl in a pig's tail since it didn't seem to serve a purpose. The president said he didn't understand why he needed a bodyguard, but since Stanton did, there must be a reason for it. He added, "It is a soldier's duty to obey orders without question". The President concluded you can serve your country here as well as at the front.
Confederate General Jubal Early, hoping to pull Grant away from the Rebel capital of Richmond, Virginia, brought the war to Washington in July of 1864. Grant, wise to the ruse, refused to accept the bait. Despite the appearance of Rebels so close to the Union's capital, Grant was confident that the city's defenses would hold without reinforcements.
Lincoln wanted to observe the action. The guard mounted up and escorted the president to Fort Stevens. The president wore his iconic stove pipe hat which made him appear to be seven foot tall. He mounted the parapet. Soon little puffs of dirt were raised around the president. Thunks in the fort's wooden sides were heard. Lincoln was being shot at by Confederate sharpshooters from buildings about one-half mile away. An officer standing near the president was hit. Lieutenant Oliver Holmes, the future United States Supreme Court Justice, yelled at Lincoln: "Get down you damn fool!"
The guards had many opportunities to observe and interact with the president. Sergeant Smith Stimmel painted this interesting portrait:
He was, "spare of flesh; large bones and strong frame, dark complexion; big hands and feet; large expressive mouth; large, well-formed nose; prominent cheekbones; black coarse hair; eyes of a bluish grey...and of sad expression when at repose, but when animated with something of special interest, they would light up with special brilliancy".
Stimmel said that the president was a very sensitive man who clearly felt the burden of the nation's grief upon his shoulders. Even when news of victory came in, "the sadness of the widow's wail and the orphan's cry found an echo in his soul and seemed to almost crush him".
The sergeant wrote that the president was very kind. Some saw this as a weakness. Not so, said Kimmel. It was rather "evidence of his great strength of character". Lincoln, despite it all, was "not a gloomy man", but approached life with "wit and humor". "He was a great patriot and a wise statesman; but in his integrity of character he was greater than everything he ever said or did".
The unit was on duty when President Lincoln delivered his Second Inaugural Address, considered by many to be his finest speech. It was a raw, overcast day with a light drizzle. In what many at the event considered a providential sign, the sun broke through the clouds, hovering over the president as came to the podium. McBride wrote that Lincoln's "voice was singularly clear and penetrating" and was easily heard throughout the immense crowd. Smith was also impressed with Lincoln's performance. "His strong, tenor voice rang over...the outer limits of the crowd".
According to Stimmel, the address was well received. He could see approval on the faces of the audience. Lincoln's statement "with malice toward none; with charity for all" was particularly effective-a "benediction from heaven", raising a shout from the audience that rose "to the very sky".
The Ohio Union Light Guard's sole mission was to protect the president but it failed. Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865. Ward Lamon, the president's personal bodyguard, failed as well.
What happened?
The president, a forgiving man, felt he faced no danger since the war was over, and he ordered the guards to stay in their quarters that night. The president sent Lamon on a special mission to Richmond, Virginia, to report on the fall of the Confederate capital. Another man was hired to guard a door at Ford's Theater that led to the presidential box. He left his post and got drunk. John Wilkes Booth went through that very door to kill the president.
Of such decisions is history made.
