Saturday, November 28, 2020

Lincoln's 1864 Trip to City Point-- Part 7: Travel Plans Abound

The President at lunch at City Point which was described as "plain and simple" but plentiful.  Young Tad Lincoln, who had accompanied his father, was resplendent in his custom military uniform and was the center of attention.  His father told stories much of the time and shook a lot of hands.

About 3 pm, the group departed from City Point with the president riding one of Grant's favorite horses named Cincinnatus, while Tad rode a black pony named Jeff Davis.  They rode about an hour to reach the VI Corps headquarters where most of the generals of the Army of the Potomac were gathered.

The president never asked and said he did not want to know Grant's plans.  Lincoln then visited an observation point where he could see the steeples of Petersburg in the distance.

Grant alerted Benjamin Butler that the president would visit on June 22 and that he would accompany him, but fighting at the front kept him from doing so.

On June 22, Butler and his staff rode their horses to the Point of Rocks where they took Butler's steamer, the Greyhound, to meet Lincoln.  Admiral Lee left his flagship, the Malvern, anchored near Trent's Reach on the James River and transferred to the smaller gunboat USS Agawam.  They steamed slowly to the president's vessel, the USS Baltimore.

--Old B-Runner


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