would say, 'Tell me what has been done; not what is to be done.' He
would sit for hours tilted back in his chair, with his hand shading his
eyes, watching the movements of the men with the greatest interest."
Another account says: "Lincoln made many visits with Grant to the lines
around Richmond and Petersburg. On such occasions he usually rode one of
the General's fine bay horses, called 'Cincinnati.' He was a good
horseman, and made his way through swamps and over corduroy roads as
well as the best trooper in the command. The soldiers invariably
recognized him, and greeted him, wherever he appeared amongst them, with
cheers that were no lip service, but came from the depth of their
hearts. He always had a pleasant salute or a friendly word for the men
in the ranks."

Aside from the President's desire to be at the front at this critical
time, he had an almost feverish anxiety to escape from the petty
concerns and details of official life in Washington. In Welles's Diary
is this entry (March 23, 1865): "The President has gone to the front,
partly to get rid of the throng [office-seekers, politicians, etc.] that
is pressing on him. The more he yields, the greater the pressure. It has
now become such that he is compelled to flee. There is no doubt he is
much worn down. Besides, he wishes the war terminated, and, to this end,
that severe terms shall not be exacted of the Rebels."

Much of the time during the President's visit to the army he had his
quarters on the steamer "River Queen," lying in the James river at City
Point. It was the same vessel on which he had received the Southern
peace commissioners a month before, and the one on which he had made the
journey from Washington. On the 27th of March a memorable interview
occurred in the cabin of this vessel, between President Lincoln,
Generals Grant and Sherman, and Admiral Porter. General Sherman thus
describes the interview: "I left Goldsboro on the 25th of March and
reached City Point on the afternoon of the 27th. I found General Grant
and staff occupying a neat set of log huts, on a bluff overlooking the
James river. The General's family was with him. We had quite a long and
friendly talk, when Grant remarked that the President was near by in a
steamer lying at the dock, and he proposed that we should call at once.
We did so, and found Mr. Lincoln on board the 'River Queen.' We had met
in the early part of the war; he recognized me, and received me with a
warmth