"Just as Steven Spielberg filmed a little-known story of Lincoln and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, two other filmmakers, screenwriting duo Nina and Salvador Litvak, found themselves fascinated by another untold story of Lincoln -- the one told by his dear friend and self-appointed bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon.
From the moment of Abraham Lincoln's election on November 6, 1860, tensions in the country were high. Within four months, seven southern states seceded from the Union to form the Confederacy. Lincoln's safety had already been threatened with rumors of an assassination plot to be carried out on his trip to the Inauguration when he would be traveling by train from Springfield to Washington, DC.
The railroads hired private detective Allan Pinkerton to safeguard the trip for the president-elect as there was no Secret Service at that time. While the rest of the entourage remained on the presidential train, Pinkerton put Lincoln on another train unannounced and Lincoln arrived safely in Washington where he was inaugurated on March 4, 1861.
One of the men accompanying Lincoln on that trip was Ward Hill Lamon, a friend and former law partner, whom Lincoln specifically requested join him in Washington. Shortly after assuming the presidency, Lincoln appointed Lamon to be U.S. Marshall for the District of Columbia. Lamon observed the lack of security and the number of threats that surrounded the wartime president, and Lamon appointed himself as personal bodyguard…"
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Film release here
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Hope to hear comments soon!.
Amicalement
Armand
