Everyone in Springfield and its environs (including where I lived in Bloomington, Illinois) are all excited about “our favorite son” Abraham Lincoln as he prepares to leave to travel to Washington, D. C. to become President of the United States.
My wife, Sallie, daughter of Stephen Logan of Springfield, was even more excited about the possibility of my potential appointment as Minister of France, with an office and home in Paris. Sallie, her father and his powerful political friends were lobbying hard for my appointment. It was to be my reward for what was known in politics as a “fat Favor.” Their letters were full of compliments of my work especially during the Republican National Convention where Mr. Lincoln’s cronies pulled all stops to get their man, Abraham Lincoln, a long shot candidate, to victory.
Those letters of support did not mention all my activities at the convention including but not limited to finding Mr. Hersey the printer of tickets to the Wigwam, where the convention was being held. I paid Mr. Hersey out of my own pocket to print bogus tickets to the Wigwam. My colleagues, Alexander Conner, Henry Russel, Mr. Marshal and I forged names of Lincoln supporters onto the tickets. The following morning, the day of the election to name the Republican nominee, Seward’s supporters who had official passes to enter were turned away from the Wigwam, because the Lincoln men had already been seated.
When Mr. Lincoln found out about my shenanigans, he was not happy. If he had his way now, I am thinking I would become the Minister of some uninhabited island in the middle of the ocean.
W. H. Lamon
