At noon, President and Mrs. Lincoln hold a "New Year reception" at the White House where they greet cabinet members, foreign dignitaries, and the general public. A newspaper reports, "The President received all with the greatest cordiality, and took each individual by the hand. . . . In order to prevent the handsome carpets . . . from being soiled by the mud and dirt . . . canvas was spread over them. . . . [M]any pressed so determinedly to gain admittance that several ladies and children were nearly suffocated, and in some instances ladies and children were raised above the crowd . . . to shield them from the pressure." Evening Star (Washington, DC), 2 January 1865, 2:1.

Sec. Welles remains until 4 P.M. Welles, Diary.

Correspondent for "Scientific American has brief interview with President. Bruce, Tools of War, 289.

Lincoln receives delegation of Kentuckians who apply "to have Gen. Butler assigned to a command that should embrace their State." Reply to a Delegation of Kentuckians, 2 January 1865, CW, 8:195.

Francis D. Blakeslee, clerk in quartermaster general's office, accompanied by two ladies, calls on President. Rufus R. Wilson, ed., Intimate Memories of Lincoln (Elmira, NY: Primavera Press, 1942), 429.

Lincoln decides upon another secret expedition. Sec. Stanton , at home ill, sends for Gen. Meigs and orders boats assembled at Baltimore. Diary, Montgomery C. Meigs Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

White House receives complaint that members of Congress were not invited to New Year's reception. Lamon to Nicolay, 4 January 1865, John G. Nicolay Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.