Online bios of both Lincoln’s bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon, and Lincoln’s brother-in-law, Benjamin Hardin Helm, say these two Lincoln connections attended UofL’s law school in the mid-1800s.

Lamon was a close friend and self-appointed bodyguard of Lincoln. Born in 1828 in Virginia, he pursued the study of medicine as a teenager but soon abandoned medicine for law. When he was 19, Lamon moved to Illinois and, according to bios, later attended lectures at Louisville’s law school.

An 1850-51 study directory the university’s Law Library purchased from a rare-books dealer provides a clear indication that his claim to Cardinal fame is true.

The directory lists W. H. Lamon of Martinsburg, Virginia, in its “catalog of students in the department since its founding.” In 1851, Lamon was admitted to the Illinois Bar, which also included Lincoln, who became one of Lamon’s fast friends. Lamon, who was described as a burly, boisterous man, chose to act as Lincoln’s bodyguard during his presidency. Because Lincoln sent Lamon on an errand in Richmond, Virginia, Lamon was absent from Ford’s Theatre the night Lincoln was assassinated.

Around the same time Lamon was attending lectures, Helm was also studying law. Lincoln’s brother-in-law was an attorney and a brigadier general for the Confederate Army. Born in 1831 in Bardstown, Kentucky, Helm married Emilie Todd, a half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln, in 1856. Lincoln offered Helm the position of paymaster for the Union Army, but Helm declined the offer and moved forward with the Confederate Army. Helm died at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863 while commanding the First Kentucky Brigade, commonly know as the Orphan Brigade.

Helm’s history with UofL is a bit murkier than Lamon’s. A 1943 biography, “Ben Hardin Helm, Rebel Brother-in-law of Abraham Lincoln,” says Helm received his law degree in 1853. But according to Kurt Metzmeier, associate director of the law library, Helm is not listed in the 1850-51 catalog of UofL law students. However, this only proves Helm did not attend lectures before November 1850.

According to Metzmeier, during the mid-1800s attending law school was not a requirement to become a lawyer.

“Lawyers of this area typically ‘read law’ under another attorney, which was essentially an apprenticeship,” he said.

Apprentices would then appear before a judge to be quizzed on the law and, if satisfied, the judge would grant them a law license.

“Attending law lectures was an extra bit of polish to the process of reading law, usually undertaken by those who could afford it to show status,” Metzmeier said.

Metzmeier said the only other law school in the region at the time was at Transylvania University and UofL was one of only three or four law schools west of the Appalachians. UofL’s law school was well-respected in the law community during the era, which would have encouraged such prominent men as Lamon and Helm to stop by for a lecture, he added.

And what about Lincoln himself?

“Unlikely,” Metzmeier said. “But with Lincoln’s friend (and future U.S. Attorney General) James Speed on the UofL board of trustees in the early 1850s and on the law faculty from 1856 to 1858, it is at least possible to imagine the lanky Illinois lawyer stretched out in a doorway waiting for his old friend to finish a lecture or some university business.”

Questions have been raised about why the iconic landmark was removed, where it is now, and whether or not it is coming back. According to UofL Director of University Planning, Design and Construction Kenneth Dietz, Mother Nature is the reason the cannon is currently sitting in a University’s storage facility.

“The primary problem was the wood wheels and spokes, which is typical of a parrot gun of that time period,” Dietz said. “When a wood wheel is in a static position on the ground it’s susceptible to rot due to moisture, which then allows easy access to wood eating insects. When we got to the scene eight months ago the damage was so bad that the cannon was already on the ground, so we went about looking for a solution.”

In 2010, the cannon suffered the exact same damage and was successfully repaired. But the artisans who worked on the battery in 2010 are not currently available, leading Dietz to search for alternative solutions.

“We’re trying to line up parts, as there are some people who still make wood wheels, and asking area blacksmiths and Physical Plant if they would be interested in replacing the wood wheels, making repairs and re-installing the cannon. We have also been given the name of the curator of a Civil War museum to recommend other qualified craftsperson,” he said.��

The cannon was dedicated May 13, 1978, to honor General John Alexander Logan, an 1851 law school graduate who served under multiple generals including General Ulysses S. Grant, during the Civil War.

Logan returned to his home state of Illinois serving multiple terms in the U.S. Congress as both a representative and senator and ran for U.S. vice president in 1884. He also founded the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization of Union Civil War veterans that was instrumental in the creation of Memorial Day.��

Dietz says the landmark will return, but the timetable and cost for the repair is not known at this time.�� 

As dignitaries gather at Arlington National Cemetery and towns across the nation this weekend to remember the men and women who have died in military service to the United States, it will be the continuing culmination of the vision of UofL law alumnus John Alexander Logan.

Logan, an 1851 law graduate, designated May 30 as a day to remember the nation’s war dead in 1868 when the physical and emotional scars of the Civil War were still fresh.

Local remembrances of the war’s dead had started even during the war, especially in the South, but Logan, a Union veteran and commander in chief of the veterans group the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), envisioned an observance that would be annual and national in scope.

In General Order No. 11 of the GAR, Logan called for the “strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land.” Hence the day became known as Decoration Day.

Logan also asked that the observance “be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades,” and he called upon the press to help notify people in all parts of the country so everyone could take part in the remembrance on the same day.

New York officially recognized Decoration Day as a holiday in 1873, and it had become a holiday in all northern states by 1890. The South, however, did not adopt May 30 as its day of remembrance until after World War I when, with the number of Civil War veterans dwindling and that war fading from current memory, the holiday changed to one that honored Americans who died fighting in any war.

The National Holiday Act of 1971 set Memorial Day as the last Monday in May. The act provided a three-day weekend for all federal holidays. According to the U.S. Memorial Day organization, some Southern states continue to honor Confederate war dead on a separate day.

However, many believed the statue to be a symbol of slavery, which sparked contentious debates as well as a legal battle between its supporters and the City of Louisville and UofL. After the initial announcement was made in April about the intention to relocate the statue, a Louisville judge rejected a challenge by those wanting it to stay put.

A compromise was reached with the statue’s relocation to Brandenburg, Kentucky, under an agreement approved by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.

Brandenburg will use the monument as part of its biennial Civil War re-enactments.

The effort to properly dismantle the 70-foot-tall structure cost $400,000, $350,000 of which was provided by the UofL Foundation, and $50,000 provided by the city.

During the process, construction crews unearthed a time capsule that is expected to be loaned to the Filson Historical Society.

“It’s always important to remember and respect our history, but it’s equally important to reflect on that history in proper context,” Fischer said. “This monument represents our history — a painful part of our nation’s history for many — and it’s best moved to a new location.”

The statue will be held in storage until an appropriate historical location is selected. Leadership in Mayor Fischer’s and President Ramsey’s offices have been working on the move for several weeks and will be discussing the options for an appropriate historical venue in the near future. While the monument is disassembled, the university will clean and repair the bronze figures and embellishments — something that has not been done since 1895.

Members of the University of Louisville Diversity Committee, composed of students, faculty and staff appointed by President Ramsey, listed the removal of the statue as one of their highest priorities to improve diversity and inclusion on campus.

“We are not here to erase history, but we are here to announce that this statue should be situated somewhere more appropriate than a modern campus that celebrates its diversity,” Dr. Ramsey said. “Kentucky certainly played a unique role in the Civil War, but it is the culture of inclusion we strive for each day at UofL that will define our future. Over the years, our campus has grown to encircle this monument, which does not symbolize the values of our campus community or that of a 21^st Century institution of higher education.”

The statue was gifted to the city by the Kentucky Woman’s Monument Association in 1895 to commemorate the Kentuckians who fought and died for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Once the statue is removed, the median on Third Street will be replaced with a new lane to improve access to the Speed Art Museum and assist traffic flow around the University. UofL and city officials plan to have the work completed as soon as possible now that students have left the campus for the summer.

View photos from the .��