The president sends appointment to Congress to raise Ulysses S. Grant to Lt. General

This week was a busy one at the White House.  The president appointed General Ulysses S. Grant as Lt. General and sent that to Congress. Members of Congress and their families attended a closed reception hosted by the Lincolns at the White House. The president and Mrs. Lincoln attended three plays, "Hamlet", "Fool's Revenge" and "Richelieu", all performed by Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth at Grover's Theater.

And speaking of Shakespeare. While Mr. Lincoln was sitting from Francis Carpenter's portrait, the president recited the soliloquy of the king in "Hamlet" from memory.

It was at this time also that the president, a long time advocate of the transcontinental railroad, established the starting point of the Union Pacific Railroad as being on the western boundary of the state of Iowa.