At about 10:00 a.m., General Grant telegraphed President Lincoln, “Can you not visit City Point for a day or two? I would like very much to see you, and I think the rest would do you good.”1

The president did not need much coaxing. He replied to General Grant later that day: “Your kind invitation received,” Lincoln wrote. “Had already thought of going immediately after the next rain. Will go sooner if any reason for it. Mrs. L. and a few others will probably accompany me. Will notify you of exact time, once it shall be fixed upon.”²

Lincoln had been looking for an excuse to get away from Washington and everything—and everybody—that went with it for quite some time. This was his excuse. He realized that this would be a working vacation, at best, but at least it would be a change.

City Point was General Grant's headquarters, and was also the main supply depot for the Army of the Potomac. Since 1861, it had evolved from a small riverside village to a burgeoning seaport on the James River, about ten miles northeast of Petersburg. The base was dirty and overcrowded, with wharves and docks that stretched all along the riverfront for over a mile. All these wharves and warehouses kept the army supplied with everything it needed, from artillery ammunition to fresh bread. City Point was nobody's idea of a vacation resort, but at least the trip would get Lincoln away from the White House for a while.

But the trip would not be all rest and relaxation. While he was at City Point, the president would also meet with General Grant to discuss the end of the war and what to do about the Army of Northern Virginia. Specifically, he wanted to make certain that Grant did not discuss any subjects with General Lee except purely military matters. Grant was forbidden to make any mention at all regarding peace negotiations, or any subject outside the surrender of Lee's army.

But before the president did anything else, he had to make arrangements for the journey to City Point. It was decided he would sail from Washington aboard the USS Bat, a side-wheeled steamer that has been described as fast and well-armed. The Bat's captain, Lieutenant Commander John S. Barnes, reported to the White House on this particular Monday to meet with President Lincoln regarding the trip. The president was very friendly and approachable, but Commander Barnes noted that Lincoln had a general look of sadness that upset him. After a few minutes of casual conversation, Lincoln mentioned that Mrs. Lincoln would be joining him on the trip. He asked Commander Barnes if the Bat would be able to accommodate his wife and her personal servant and dresser, Mrs. Elizabeth Keckley.

Commander Barnes also spoke with Mrs. Lincoln about the coming trip. He was introduced to the president's wife, who also was very cordial and friendly. She explained that she would be accompanying her husband to City Point and wanted Barnes to make arrangements to take herself, Mrs. Keckley, and a bodyguard aboard his ship along with the president.

This presented a problem. USS Bat was a warship. It was built in Liverpool, England, and had been purchased by the Confederate government as a blockade runner. In October 1864, the ship was captured by Union warships off the North Carolina coast and became part of the US Navy's blockade squadron in January 1865. It had not been designed for luxury, and did not have any amenities for women. The Bat would have been fine if the president was going to City Point by himself. He would have been quite comfortable aboard the small, fast boat. But having women on board brought another set of circumstances into the picture. Commander Barnes would discuss the situation with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox. Between the two of them, they would decide exactly what arrangements would have to be made.

At City Point, General Ulysses S. Grant was glad that President Lincoln had taken him up on his invitation, but he had more urgent and immediate things on his mind than a presidential visit. General Grant's main concern was still General Robert E. Lee and exactly what Lee was planning for the immediate future of his army. He later found out that General Lee and Confederate president Jefferson Davis had met to discuss “the situation of affairs in and about Richmond and Petersburg,” and also that the two of them had reached the decision that “these places were no longer tenable for them, and that they must get away as soon as possible.”3 Lee and Davis were just waiting for the first opportunity to slip out of the trenches south of Petersburg, which Grant realized would be as soon as the weather and the roads allowed the army to travel. “They, too, were waiting for dry roads,” Grant remembered, “or a condition of the roads which would make it possible for them to move.”