Escorting President Lincoln

An interesting period for Bat—one in which she rendered her most notable service—began on March 20 when General Grant invited the President to visit his headquarters at City Point, Virginia. At this time both the Commander-in-Chief and Mrs. Lincoln were worn out by the burdens of presiding over the wartime White House. Each was completely drained of strength by almost four years of the most bloody fratricidal war; by grief over the loss of their son, Willie; and by the sadness of knowing that the men in Mrs. Lincoln's family had been fighting for the Southern cause. Thus the President welcomed an opportunity to get away from Washington while visiting the Union troops beleaguering Richmond. Since Bat was the fastest vessel in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, the Navy ordered her to Washington so that she might carry Mr. Lincoln to Grant's headquarters on the James River. The speedy steamer reached the Washington Navy Yard late on the 20th, and Lt. Comdr. Barnes reported in person to Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox. The two men arranged to have suitable accommodations for the President installed in Bat and then proceeded together to the Executive Mansion, where they discussed the proposed voyage with Mr. Lincoln.

The next day, Barnes was summoned back to the White House and told by the President that Mrs. Lincoln had decided to accompany him to City Point. Because Bat was not outfitted to accommodate ladies and could not be readily made so, the work on her was stopped; and another fast steamer, the River Queen, was found for the task. Accordingly, Bat's role was changed to escorting the President's unarmed ship during her voyage to the James. She was to stay with River Queen throughout his visit and then to accompany her back to Washington. Plots against the President had been discovered soon after Lincoln's election in the autumn of 1860 and had continued to be hatched throughout his time in office. Consequently, fear for his safety was strong in the Navy Department, especially during the final phase of the war when frustration and hostility in many Southern hearts were being inflamed by growing certainty that the collapse of the Confederacy was imminent. Moreover, besides the threat of assassination, naval leaders were also worried by the possibility that the President's ship would strike a mine or come to grief in some other way. The previous autumn—during a conference to plan an expedition against Fort Fisher – Greyhound, an Army transport similar in design to River Queen – had been set afire by a bomb disguised as a lump of coal that exploded in her boiler. On that occasion, General Benjamin F. Butler and Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter had barely escaped from the blazing vessel with their lives.

Thus, Bat's mission was considered to be of the utmost importance. She was to protect the River Queen from attackers of any sort; and, should his ship be damaged, she was to take Mr. Lincoln and his party on board and to carry them to safety. The two ships got underway on the afternoon of March 23, stopped at Fortress Monroe the next morning to get fresh water for use of the President who had become ill the previous night after drinking contaminated water from River Queen's tanks, and anchored off City Point late that night. During the ensuing days, Lt. Comdr. Barnes was a frequent companion of the President, both afloat and during excursions ashore. On the evening of the 27th, General William Tecumseh Sherman arrived at City Point for conferences with General Grant and the President. Sherman's absence from his army during this critical phase of the war caused Lincoln great uneasiness and brought orders for Barnes to return the general in Bat to his troops in North Carolina with the greatest possible despatch. After filling her coal bunkers and taking on provisions, Bat—with Sherman; the General's brother, Senator John Sherman; the son and confidential clerk of the Secretary of War, Edwin Lamson Stanton; and a number of prominent Army officers embarked—got underway on the morning of the 28th and proceeded at top speed to New Bern, North Carolina, which she reached late on the evening of the 30th. After disembarking her passengers and refueling, she began the run back to the James the next day and reached City Point on the evening of April 2.

By this time, the defensive works that had protected the Confederate capital had crumbled. The First Lady—after being indisposed during much of her visit to City Point—had returned to Washington; and her husband had joined Porter in the Admiral's flagship, Malvern. About mid morning on the 4th, Bat got underway to follow Malvern and River Queen up the James toward Richmond, as those ships threaded their way along a channel cleared of mines and obstructions. When Malvern ran aground a short distance below the Confederate capital, Porter invited the President into his barge, in which they were rowed ashore. Barnes followed in a boat from Bat and accompanied Lincoln when he visited the Southern executive mansion—from which President Jefferson Davis had just fled—and during much of his subsequent tour of the burning city. That evening, Lincoln and Porter reembarked in Malvern and Barnes in Bat. The next day, Mrs. Lincoln returned from Washington to the James; and, after she had visited Richmond on the 7th, plans were laid for the First Family's voyage back to Washington.

Meanwhile, the Navy had received reports of a Confederate plot to capture the ferry at Havre de Grace, Maryland, and of Southern plans to launch other actions in the Chesapeake Bay which might be dangerous to the President. As a precaution, Barnes assigned two officers and a guard of sailors—presumably from Bat—to River Queen with instructions to guard Lincoln. Bat escorted River Queen to City Point on the evening of the 7th, and the two ships sailed for Washington the next morning. Barnes remained in the latter with the President as the two ships dropped down the river, leaving Bat under temporary command of her executive officer, but resumed command of his own ship at Fortress Monroe for the run up the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River to the Federal capital. Upon leaving the salt water of the bay and entering the fresh water of the river, Bat developed foam in her boilers which lowered her steam pressure and slowed her engines. This forced her to fall behind River Queen and allowed the President's ship to reach the Washington Navy Yard ahead of her. When Bat was moored at the yard on the 10th, she learned that General Robert E. Lee had surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse the day before.

Following brief repairs, Bat headed down river on the 11th and anchored in Hampton Roads the next day. Awaiting her was word that Porter expected to be there on the 13th and orders to be ready to take him to Washington. However, the admiral did not arrive until the 14th and then remained in Tristram Shandy, the ship that had brought him from City Point, for the remainder of the homeward voyage. On the morning of the 15th, lookouts in Bat received a signal from Monodnock ordering the dispatch ship's commanding officer to come on board. Bat remained in Hampton Roads for the next few weeks waiting for instructions to assist in efforts to capture the President's assassins or for orders to pursue any officials of the fallen Confederate government who might attempt to escape by sea. Such a message never arrived. On May 6, 1865, Bat was ordered to Washington, D.C. Decommissioned at New York City on the 17th, the ship was sold at public auction there on May 25, 1865 to Russell Surgiss and Associates and was documented on November 6, 1865 as Teaser.