Jordan's Post #8: Clement Laird Vallandigham

             Many native Daytonians may know the story of Clement Laird Vallandigham. Not being from the area, his story was new to me. Clement arrived in New Lisbon, Ohio in 1820. He was the fourth generation of his family to live in America. His father was a minister and was determined to provide a classical education to Clement. Clement became knowledgeable in Greek and Latin by the time he became a teen. He attended Jefferson College in Pennsylvania when he was sixteen. Four years later, he returned to New Lisbon with a new interest in law. In 1842, he moved to Dayton and became admitted to the bar. Once in Dayton, he became involved in the newspaper business and in politics. In 1844, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. He also became the the owner of the Dayton Daily Empire from 1847-1849. He continued in his political career and eventually received a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1858-1862. He was entrenched in the slavery debate. He often spoke against Abraham Lincoln and used his power in the media to promote his view in newspapers. Vallandigham was part of two groups: the Miami Valley Copperheads and the secretive Knights of the Golden Circle. In 1863, it was discovered that Vallandigham and the Knights of the Golden Circle were involved in a conspiracy with the South and General Ambrose Burnside ordered his soldiers to arrest Vallandigham. Vallandigham was arrested at his Dayton home at 3 AM on May 6, 1863. As a result of his arrest, a mob burned down the building of a long newspaper rival of Vallandigham’s the Dayton Journal. Another group led retaliation on the property of the Dayton Daily Empire and martial law was declared in Dayton for forty-five days. Vallandigham was sent to Wilmington, North Carolina. However, he ran the blockade to go to Bermuda and eventually moved to Ontario, Canada. He disguised himself and traveled back into the U.S. and continued to be politically active. He returned to law and, in 1871, he became the lawyer in a murder case. While at the Lebanon House (now known as the Golden Lamb), Vallandigham attempted to prove how the deceased had accidentally killed himself. During this demonstration, Vallandigham fatally shot himself in the abdomen. Ironically, his client was proven innocent.

Roberts, Carl. 200 Years of Progress: A History of Dayton and the Miami Valley. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company: Dubuque, IA, 1978.

http://www.goldenlamb.com/pages/history/default/4/

Special thanks to Adam Becker