Petersburg, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Lincoln In Petersburg
Presidential Visit to Centre Hill
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, October 23, 2011
1. Lincoln In Petersburg CWT Marker
Inscription.
Lincoln In Petersburg. Presidential Visit to Centre Hill. At noon on April 7, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and his party left City Point for Petersburg in a special train on the newly repaired City Point Railroad, arriving in the city half an hour later. His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and their young son, Tad, accompanied him, as well as Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker and confidante, Elizabeth Keckley, who had been a slave in Petersburg. Sen. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, one of Lincoln’s closest friends, and Adm. David Porter completed the party. They eventually arrived here at Centre Hill, headquarters for the commanding officer of the Petersburg garrison, Union Gen. George L. Hartsuff. While a staff officer gave the others a tour of the house, Lincoln and Hartsuff discussed the temper of Petersburg’s white population. This conversation probably occurred in the study, off the stair hall., Hartsuff told Lincoln that he might rent Centre Hill from its owners, Robert Buckner Bolling and his wife, who were still at a country place they owned in northern Virginia. Lincoln stared at the shell-torn walls and quipped that Federal batteries had “made rent enough here already.”, While on the train back to City Point, Lincoln shared Hartsuff’s encouraging opinion that “animosity in the town is abating,” and that “the inhabitants now accept as accomplished facts, the final downfall of the Confederacy, and the abolition of slavery. …[and] every day brings new reason for confidence in the future.” Eight days later, the outlook for the nation suddenly darkened as Lincoln lay dying in Washington, Sumner holding his hand., (sidebar) , In March 1865, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant invited President Abraham Lincoln to visit him at City Point for a respite from the capital as the 9½-month-Iong siege of Petersburg neared its end. Lincoln joined him on March 24. They held meetings, reviewed the army, and toured fortifications. On April 3, the day the Federals occupied Richmond and Petersburg, Lincoln and Grant held their last meeting in Petersburg. Lincoln visited Richmond the next day. He returned to Washington on April 9 as Grant accepted the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army at Appomattox Court House.
At noon on April 7, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and his party left City Point for Petersburg in a special train on the newly repaired City Point Railroad, arriving in the city half an hour later. His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and their young son, Tad, accompanied him, as well as Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker and confidante, Elizabeth Keckley, who had been a slave in Petersburg. Sen. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, one of Lincoln’s closest friends, and Adm. David Porter completed the party. They eventually arrived here at Centre Hill, headquarters for the commanding officer of the Petersburg garrison, Union Gen. George L. Hartsuff. While a staff officer gave the others a tour of the house, Lincoln and Hartsuff discussed the temper of Petersburg’s white population. This conversation probably occurred in the study, off the stair hall.
Hartsuff told Lincoln that he might rent Centre Hill from its owners, Robert Buckner Bolling and his wife, who were still at a country place they owned in northern Virginia. Lincoln stared at the shell-torn walls and quipped that Federal batteries had “made rent enough here already.”
While on the train back to City Point, Lincoln shared Hartsuff’s encouraging opinion that “animosity in the town is abating,” and that “the inhabitants now accept as accomplished
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facts, the final downfall of the Confederacy, and the abolition of slavery. …[and] every day brings new reason for confidence in the future.” Eight days later, the outlook for the nation suddenly darkened as Lincoln lay dying in Washington, Sumner holding his hand.
(sidebar)
In March 1865, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant invited President Abraham Lincoln to visit him at City Point for a respite from the capital as the 9½-month-Iong siege of Petersburg neared its end. Lincoln joined him on March 24. They held meetings, reviewed the army, and toured fortifications. On April 3, the day the Federals occupied Richmond and Petersburg, Lincoln and Grant held their last meeting in Petersburg. Lincoln visited Richmond the next day. He returned to Washington on April 9 as Grant accepted the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army at Appomattox Court House.
Location. 37° 13.825′ N, 77° 24.075′ W. Marker is in Petersburg, Virginia. Marker is on Centre Hill Court, 0.1 miles
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, October 23, 2011
2. Presidential Visit to Centre Hill Marker
north of Franklin Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Centre Hill Avenue, Petersburg VA 23803, United States of America. Touch for directions.
8. Charles Sumner, half-length portrait, seated, facing slightly left
Library of Congress [LC-USZ62-128709]
circa 1865
9. G.L. Hartsuff
Library of Congress [LC-DIG-cwpb-05150]
circa 1865
10. Head Quarters of Gen. G.L. Hartsuff
Library of Congress [LC-DIG-ppmsc-03301]
Photographed By Nathaniel Michler
11. Sketch of the entrenched lines in the immediate front of Petersburg
Library of Congress [G3884.P4S5 1865 .M5 CW 609]
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 23, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 911 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 23, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 6. submitted on October 17, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 7, 8, 9, 10. submitted on October 23, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 11. submitted on October 17, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.