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Historical fiction author Bob O’Connor explores the story of a man who might have saved a nation from post-Civil War division, in his novel, The Virginian Who Might Have Saved Lincoln.
President Lincoln’s trusted friend, former law partner and heavily armed bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon, is the subject of this new historical novel. Lamon snuck Lincoln into Washington prior to the Inauguration when detective Allan Pinkerton uncovered a plot to assassinate Lincoln when his train passed through Baltimore.
Lamon was in charge of the dedication of the national cemetery at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863. Many nights he slept on the floor outside the Lincoln bedroom in the White House to protect the president.
Unfortunately, Lamon was not at Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865, the night the president was shot by John Wilkes Booth. If Lamon had been present, would Lincoln have been saved?
About the Author
Bob O’Connor lives in Charles Town, West Virginia, close to most of the sites of his books. O’Connor has always collected books on two historical characters — John Wilkes Booth and John Brown. As he says “Imagine my surprise when I ended up living in Charles Town, West Virginia — a place they both had visited in late 1859. Thus, the inspiration for the first novel “The Perfect Steel Trap Harpers Ferry 1859”. The book has been named a Finalist in the 2006 Best Book Awards by USA Book News.”
The inspiration for O’Connor’s second novel “The Virginian Who Might Have Saved Lincoln” was the intrigue of finding a man, Ward Hill Lamon, who was so close to Abraham Lincoln, yet most people he talked to had never heard about him. In fact, he is mentioned in most non-fiction books about Lincoln (there are 44,781 listed on Amazon.com), but no book has ever been written about him.”
O’Connor’s next book will most likely be called “Catesby-Eye Witness to the Civil War.” It is about an African American blacksmith who was captured by John Brown and released when Brown was captured at Harpers Ferry. The book follows his struggle to become a free man, as he witnesses events at Antietam Creek, Gettysburg, the Battle of Olustee (FL) and Andersonville Prison.
Learn more at Bob O’Connor Books
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