Despite Gideon Welles' opposition, around 1 pm on June 20, 1864, the USS Baltimore steamed away from Washington, D.C. with President Lincoln aboard and it was a pleasurable cruise of about 20 hours to City Point.
There were no stops and it happened to fall on a full moon period, allowing the Baltimore to steam along the Chesapeake Bay coast after sunset and through the night.
City Point at the time of Lincoln's arrival was in the middle of a dramatic transformation. Before the war, it had been Petersburg's main port to the world as deep draft ocean-going vessels could go that far. However, once the Union Navy controlled Hampton Roads, City Point withered.
Union forces had taken it over in May when Butler launched his campaign. But now, it was Grant's headquarters and te main supply depot for operations. Supplies and ordnance flooded into City Point. The James River was a huge mass of vessels.
The USS Baltimore, with no cargo to unload and its special passenger unannounced, probably halted off shore to allow the president to board a rowboat at about 9 am on June 21. When he came ashore, there would be more chaos and activity as construction was everywhere.
The presidential party would probably have headed up the nearest road (modern Pecan Avenue) leading to Grant's headquarters on the bluff.
--Old B-Runner
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