Whether or not we buy into the premise of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is irrelevant. Just as Abraham Lincoln, a real-life figure, appears in the revisionist and fanciful film, so does William H. Johnson, the legendary president’s personal valet, among other things. One man has filled up tomes, while the other has only generated footnotes. Still, their relationship, especially in the context of the times in which they lived, is interesting.
From most accounts, Johnson knew Lincoln before he became president and was present at the 1860 dinner at the Lincolns’ Springfield, Illinois home when the Republican National Committee notified Lincoln of his nomination for president.
In Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography, Jean Baker notes that Mrs. Lincoln “had stationed William Johnson (who later went on Washington as Lincoln’s valet) at the front door to announce the party eminences as they entered first the hallway and then her parlor.” This “added touch of elegance” impressed the attendees.
Things were not well for Johnson in Washington, however. It was customary for African-American White House workers to be light skinned and Johnson was of a darker hue. Black White House workers allegedly objected to his color greatly, prompting Lincoln to discontinue him as his valet.
In a February 1, 2012 post to the New York Times blog “Disunion” about the Civil War, Lincoln is quoted as explaining, “The difference of color between him and the other servants is the cause of our separation.” Although Lincoln followed White House protocol, he did not turn his back on Johnson and got him a job.
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Harold Holzer, who has written several books on Lincoln, including Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861, published in 2008, claims that the Lincoln “tried to get Johnson an appointment with the Naval Department, which actually had African-American sailors, and was also rejected.”
Lincoln did succeed in getting Johnson a messenger’s post at the Treasury Department and one of Johnson’s duties included carrying money. At the time Lincoln secured Johnson the job, he wrote “I have confidence as to his integrity and faithfulness.”
Still, Lincoln allowed Johnson to work as his barber and valet for extra cash. Johnson was so important to Lincoln that he frequently traveled with him. A February 11, 2011 Disunion post notes that Johnson was with President Lincoln and Mrs. Lincoln as they traveled New York in February 1861, just before the Civil War officially started.
According to the blog, Mrs. Lincoln decided that her husband’s appearance needed upgrading and turned to Johnson for assistance. His answer was a new broadcloth overcoat, which resulted in the media reporting that “Lincoln’s appearance improved by 50 percent.”
It was Johnson’s trip with Lincoln for the historic Gettysburg Address in November 1863 that may have led to his death. Mrs. Lincoln had not wanted her husband to go to Gettysburg because he was ill, but Lincoln insisted and Johnson accompanied him. Lincoln was showing early stages of small pox and Johnson nursed him. Only Johnson later came down with the disease himself and died in January 1864.
“He did not catch it from me,” Lincoln believed. “At least I think not.” Still he felt responsible for Johnson. “William is gone,” he reportedly told a Washington banker. “I bought a coffin for the poor fellow and have had to help his family.”
Rumors also persist that Lincoln buried Johnson in Arlington Cemetery with a tombstone that reads “William H. Johnson, Citizen.” Historians are not so quick to substantiate that, however, since William H. Johnson was a common name on both sides of the color line.
What is known for certain, however, is that Lincoln stood up for Johnson. Prior to Johnson’s death in 1864, a reporter observed Lincoln counting out greenbacks and asked him about it. According to Disunion, the reporter explained that “The president had collected the outstanding wages himself and was dividing them into envelopes in accordance with the porter’s [Johnson’s] wishes.”
Taking it a step further, Lincoln had endorsed a $150 loan Johnson had taken from the First National Bank of Washington. The debt was unpaid when Johnson died and Lincoln insisted upon honoring it even though the bank’s cashier, William J. Huntington, was willing to forgive the debt. Eventually they compromised and Lincoln paid half of the debt, with the other half being forgiven.
But most poignant, Huntington reportedly joked with Lincoln, stating that “After this, Mr. President, you can never deny that you endorse the Negro.” To which Lincoln responded, “That’s a fact!” He also added, “but I don’t intend to deny it.”
For decades, history books have indicated that Lincoln’s relationship with Frederick Douglass was largely responsible for his progressive outlook on race relations when the truth of the matter may be that his relationship, friendship even, with Johnson may have been an even greater influence. Actor Anthony Mackie, who plays Johnson in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, believes so.
“It’s exciting when you think about what he meant in the annals of history,” Mackie stated in a recent interview. “He was the friend of the guy who wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, who lead us into the Civil War, and gave the Gettysburg Address. So, it’s partly because of him we are where we are.”
He also told the Daily Beast, “If one kid Googles William H. Johnson and discovers that the Emancipation Proclamation came out of him being Abe Lincoln’s friend, then I’ve done my job.”
And that may indeed be worth entertaining the suggestion that Abraham Lincoln was indeed a vampire hunter during what is arguably this nation’s most defining moment.
Follow Ronda Racha Penrice on Twitter at @rondaracha