Lincoln Takes Command: The Campaign to Seize Norfolk and the Destruction of the CSS Virginia

In May 1862, President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Fort Monroe in Hampton Roads, Virginia, where he became the first and only sitting U.S. president to assume direct control of armed forces during a military campaign. Over five days, Lincoln studied maps, consulted with military leaders, and issued orders to subordinate commanders. Lincoln recognized the strategic value of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign and the need to capture Norfolk, Portsmouth, and the Gosport Navy Yard. During his time in Hampton Roads, he set in motion several operations: a naval bombardment of a Confederate fort, Union ships sailing up the James River toward Richmond, an amphibious landing followed by an overland march that led to the capture of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and the navy yard, and the destruction of the CSS Virginia. Lincoln returned to Washington with his objectives achieved. Some urged him to take direct command of the nation's field armies. This week, detailed here with extensive research, gave Lincoln greater confidence in his military judgment and understanding of what needed to be accomplished—insights that sustained him through the remainder of the war.