Head of State

Head of State is a side quest in Fallout 3 as well as an achievement/trophy.

Quick walkthrough

 * 1) Talk to Hannibal Hamlin.
 * 2) Retrieve the Lincoln Memorial poster for Caleb Smith.
 * 3) Let Hannibal know that the memorial is clear of super mutants.
 * 4) Side with the slaves and kill the slavers at the memorial.
 * 5) Alternatively, side with the slavers and kill the slaves at the Temple of the Union.

Talking with the Union
Hannibal Hamlin, the leader of the Temple of the Union, wants to relocate his escaped slave haven from the Temple of the Union to the Lincoln Memorial and restore the Memorial as a sign of freedom, despite the fact that it would undoubtedly attract unwanted attention. The quest is also given after speaking with Leroy Walker and killing the slavers at the Lincoln Memorial.

Hannibal requests that the player scout the memorial to see if it is occupied by the super mutants that inhabit the Mall. Hannibal will also ask the player to assist former slave Caleb Smith, a stonemason that asks the player to obtain a picture of the Lincoln Memorial in the Museum of History, so he will have reference materials to help him restore the Lincoln Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial poster is on a wall next to a desk at the top of the staircase to the topmost level in the Museum of History Offices area. The poster will not be there until the player talks with Caleb (even if the player has already been through the museum).

Kill the slavers
After scouting the Lincoln Memorial, the player finds that there are luckily no super mutants. There are, however, a contingent of slavers occupying the Memorial. If the player enters the Memorial, the slavers will immediately become hostile and shoot the player, regardless of whether the player has the "Head of State" quest. Once the Memorial has been cleared of all slavers, the player can return to the Temple of the Union.

Alternatively, if you have been to Temple of the Union, the player can tell the slavers that the slaves are hiding out near Old Olney (for bad karma).

Side with the slavers
The first time the player talks to slaver leader, Leroy Walker, he will ask the player to find items related to Lincoln. The second time the player talks to Walker or after the player trades the first Lincoln item, Walker will ask the player to locate Hannibal Hamlin. If the player sells out the location of Hannibal, Walker will tell the player that they will be waiting for the player's help there. Walker and his slavers will then leave the Lincoln Memorial.

Once you tell the slavers where the Temple is, a battle occurs if the player has not completed Caleb's section of the quest (retrieving the poster). In this case the slavers will leave the memorial and run to the Temple. It helps to fast-travel and do other things in the meantime as it can take the slavers over one in-game day to get there. Several slavers will also appear sneaking outside the Temple immediately after its location is revealed, but most of them will likely be killed by random encounters before Leroy arrives. Note: during the battle both Walker and Hamlin can be killed, causing the player to fail the quest.

You can also double-cross the slavers by killing them after selling out the slaves. Once the slavers are dead, you can continue on the original quest, helping the slaves.

Escort Hannibal
When the player reports back to Hannibal Hamlin that there are no super mutants in the Lincoln Memorial, Hannibal will gather up the runaway slaves and head for the memorial. He will tell the player to wait an hour and they will be ready. The player can then fast travel to the Mall Northwest metro station, where Hannibal will eventually arrive.

If you escort the group, you can, along the way, tell Hannibal to "Wait here, while I scout ahead." He will wait for six game hours and then continue on his journey, with or without you. When you've cleared a path for them, you can tell Hannibal "It's safe now." and they will resume the trek.

The waypoint will show that the player needs to meet Hannibal at the Mall Northwest metro station. Once the player speaks with Hannibal there, he will thank the player, the group will proceed to the memorial and the quest will be completed.

Battle at the Lincoln Memorial
In the event that the slavers still occupy the Lincoln Memorial when Hannibal Hamlin and the runaway slaves arrive, they will ask the player to help them kill the slavers. If the player does not tell Hannibal to wait while you check it out, then Hannibal will lead the runaway slaves in an assault on the Lincoln Memorial. Hannibal is usually killed, which will terminate the quest. However, if the player tells Hannibal they will "investigate" the Memorial, Hannibal will wait. This method will allow the player to go into the Memorial and kill the slavers occupying the Memorial. Then, when the player reports back to Hannibal, there will be no one to kill Hannibal when he leads the charge and the player can complete the quest.

Behind the scenes

 * Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was the 15th Vice President of the United States, serving under Abraham Lincoln from 1861-1865.
 * When entering the Temple of the Union, there is a dog right inside named Four Score, a reference to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
 * Leroy Walker is named after the Confederate Secretary of War who ordered the firing on Fort Sumter, starting the Civil War.
 * Many of the former slaves at the Temple are named after men who served in Lincoln's cabinet.
 * Bill Seward - William H. Seward, Secretary of State, 1861-9.
 * Caleb Smith - Caleb B. Smith, Secretary of the Interior, 1861-2.
 * Simone Cameron - Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, 1861-2.

Bugs

 * The pathfinding route that both the slave convoy and the slaver team take is horrendously long and fraught with double-backs and terrain glitches. Follow either group at your own risk. Simply fast-traveling to the rendezvous point and waiting for one or two days will deliver either group with no problems.
 * Hannibal Hamlin and the runaway slaves are not at the Mall northwest metro station sometimes after you report back to him that there are no more super mutants in the Lincoln Memorial and he tells you he will be ready in an hour. Waiting, even for several game hours does nothing. Hannibal never appears, and he isn't at the Temple, either. If Hannibal and the slaves aren't appearing, head into the Georgetown/the mall metro gate and wait 24 hours.
 * Another way to overcome the route glitches is to use the 'moveto player' command for PC to relocate each of the slaves to a safe place in the DC Mall. If an enemy is present when the slaves are relocated they seem to become hostile towards the player for some reason. Tell the convoy to wait and Fast Traveling to the Museum of History. Move to the top of the stairs of the metro, which is listed as being near the end of the slaves' and use console codes to relocate all of them to your location. Following are the codes for each of the slaves, their dog, and their pack animal. Open the console and enter the id followed by on the next line. After they're relocated tell them the way is safe and they'll travel the short distance left to the Memorial.


 * Killing the slavers prior to the quest will fail the quest when the memorial is reached, with the message "Hannibal Hamlin and Leroy Walker are dead", even though Hamlin is alive. Only happens if Hannibal runs with the Wanderer to the memorial.
 * Hannibal Hamlin and the runaway slaves finally got to the Mall Northwest, but refuse to walk to the memorial and fight, there are no dialog options to make them go there. This seems to happens if you cleared out all enemies in the target area before starting the quest. setstage 30 will make them walk there, but they may stand around and do nothing. setstage 50 finally finishes the quest.
 * Console commands which may be useful in resolving this bug, can be found here: Gamebryo console commands.
 * If Hannibal Hamlin is not appearing outside the Mall northwest metro station, after waiting a day, check the Temple of the Union as he may be camped there and not moving. If he and the other runaway slaves aren’t moving, simply attack one and runaway after they become hostile. Escape and wait for 24 hours at a safe location before fast-traveling to the Mall Northwest Metro Station. Once there, wait 24 hours. Hannibal and the others should appear and no longer be hostile. He will give you the reward and the quest will be complete.
 * Sometimes, Hannibal won't go to the memorial. Even when you clear it of all slavers, Hannibal won't go, leaving him just standing there. He'll just keep waiting for you to kill the slavers. Same with Caleb Smith, he'll say that the slavers must be killed and to talk to Hannibal.
 * If you tell the slavers where Hannibal and the other slaves reside, follow them and kill them along the route, you may run into the problem of not killing a slaver. Then, when you go and talk to Hannibal, the objective to kill all the slavers will still be active, showing several markers across them map including Paradise Falls. Going to the markers, you will find no slaver. Be sure that all the slavers are killed before talking to Hamlin.
 * If you just pick up the quest after completing "Take it Back!" you may not be able to complete it. When it is picked up, you will get two quest markers, one will be Leroy and the other will be Hannibal(of course) but Hannibal is at the Mall NW Metro Station. He doesn't move and there is no dialogue options between the PC with Hannibal or Leroy.