Temple of the Union

Temple of the Union is a small unit of escaped slaves that are trying to create a haven for other runaway slaves. Their leader, Hannibal Hamlin, has a dream of creating a place for slaves that they can protect from Slavers. This place turns out to be the Lincoln Memorial.

Although it is unclear how it arrived at this location, Abraham Lincoln's Head can initially be found here. Completing the quest Head of State can result in the head being moved to Lincoln Memorial. It is possible that the items were being repaired or stolen.

The name 'Temple of the Union' and associated imagery related to Abraham Lincoln are reminiscent of language used prior to, during, and after the American Civil War, of which the question of slavery was a major cause. In this case 'Union' refers to Lincoln's supporters and the 'Union' which fought to re-unite the United States as a single political entity.

The name "Temple of the Union" comes from the words above Lincoln's statue at the Lincoln memorial. The passage reads, "In this TEMPLE, as in the hearts OF THE people for whom he saved the UNION, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.” On the block Caleb is working on, the words "Temple of the Union" are visible, with the others faded out. Presumably, the block arrived at the building at the same time as the statue's head. (Xbox 360)

The Temple of the Union is located northwest of Canterbury Commons. You will be given the location on your map if you help out Mei Wong or slaves in the Scrapyard, or you can find a map on the corpse of a dead (probably failed runaway) slave near Paradise Falls. For the most profitable way to deal with the temple of the union, you should wait for all of the named NPC's to go to their rooms and fall asleep. one by one, enslave the Temple of the Union until only Hannibal remains. At this point, it is time to go get the Lincoln Memorial slavers and go let them kill Hannibal or the quest will never finish. You should also escort the slavers there as one giant radscorpion can lay waste to them all.

No real notable loot. A copy of a Pre-War Book can be found in Caleb's room on his bed. It is of course considered stealing and will result in a loss of Karma.

This is a possible location for a Random Encounter, but only if the slaves have been moved to The Lincoln Memorial or you helped the slavers kill the slaves.

Temple of the Union is one of the stop off points for the Caravan Merchants which is quite ironic due to the fact they stop off at Paradise Falls before hand. The route between Canterbury Commons and Temple of the Union is one of the most dangerous due to the Giant Radscorpions that inhabit it.

Note: Though Bill, Simone, and Alejandra are enslavable, firing the Mesmetron inside the Temple will make everyone go hostile permanently.



Notable Loot

 * Pre-War Book in Caleb's room (have to steal it)
 * Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor in the abandoned highway top raider outpost just south southwest of the Temple. (Spawns after finishing the Head of State quest).
 * Grognak the Barbarian in the abandoned highway top raider outpost just south southwest of the Temple. (Spawns after finishing the Head of State quest).
 * Pre-War Book in the same place with the others skill books. (Spawns after finishing the Head of State quest).

Bugs

 * Sometimes, a random encounter will spawn inside the Temple of the Union while Hannibal and the slaves are still occupying it. If the encounter includes hostile creatures, this can result in the deaths of the entire underground railroad, and the inability to complete any of the associated quests.
 * (Tested on Xbox 360 version) Attacking the residents of the Temple, leaving, walking far enough away (such as into a different map cell), and reentering seems to be one semi-consistent way of triggering the random encounter while the ex-slaves are still alive.


 * Picking the lock on the entrance to the Temple may cause one of your companions to become hostile. He/she will then attack you and all of your other companions (should you have other companions with you).


 * When trying to enter Temple of the union for the first time, a guard up in the window will ask what your reason for coming is. After speaking to her she will offer to open the gate, she will run down the stairs as if she is opening the gate but the gate will remain closed. Therefore you are unable to enter. This is easily solved by reloading a previous save game.
 * This bug seems to happen more often when player is wearing Talon Combat Armor or Enclave power armor


 * If you progress too far in the main quest (spoiler warning!) when you try to lead the runaway slaves to the Lincoln Memorial you may find an Enclave force-field set up around project purity at the Jefferson Memorial. Hannibal and the other slaves will get stuck here walking back and forth across the bridge instead of going the easy and obvious way. This is close to the end of the journey so if this happens you will have wasted a lot of time walking them all across the wasteland for nothing.


 * In the farm to the east, an Enclave officer with no weapons but his uniform and two Enclave solider (all of whom are hostile) with absolutely nothing will spawn every 1-3 days depending on your game. Also, you do not need to finish The Waters of Life to see them. this could be scripted or a repeating confusion within the game.


 * At some point, a wastelander may break into the building and pickpocket Caleb Smith while he sleeps. This wastelander can be found wandering outside of the building and often changes outfits and hairstyles.


 * You can not fast travel when standing right in front of the building, this can be solved by just walking away from the building until fast tavel is possible ( I had this bug on 2 different Xbox 360 consoles and different CD's for fallout 3.)

Trivia
The inhabitants are named after members of Abraham Lincoln's Cabinet. Hannibal Hamiln was Vice President, Caleb Smith was Secretary of the Interior, William "Bill" Seward was Secretary of State, and Simon(e) Cameron was Secretary of War. The dog Four Score is named for the opening words from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

The building is based on the Mormon temple in the outskirts of DC.