 He entered local politics and was elected a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1956; in 1860 he was a Presidential elector on the Democratic ticket of John C. Breckinridge and Joseph Lane.Lamb was active in the state militia and commanded the Woodis Rifles, a militia company raised in Norfolk, Virginia in 1858 and named after Hunter Woodis, the city mayor.It was sent in 1859 to Harpers Ferry during John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry.