Following the evacuation of Confederate forces at Yorktown, Major General George B McClellan wired Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton on May 4 that he was on the move. "The enemy abandoned Yorktown last night and it is now in our possession. I have thrown all my cavalry in pursuit of the enemy. I move Franklin by water up to West Point today. I shall push the enemy to the wall."

The very next day, May 5, in a follow up message to Stanton, McClellan changed his words from 'shall push the enemy' to 'hope'.  "Raining hard. Enemy is at Williamsburg. Heavy firing now going on. I hope to throw a force up York River tomorrow to cut the enemy's line of retreat."

However, Secretary Stanton was not in Washington to receive McClellan's wire for he was on a steamer with President Lincoln and other cabinet members traveling to Hampton Road. The entourage arrived aboard the Treasury Department's revenue cutter Miami on May 6.  Despite having traveled all day and into the evening, Gen McClellan was too busy at the front of his army to meet the president.  Mr. Lincoln, who believed that the city of Norfolk was vulnerable and that control of the James was possible, took matters into his own hands.

As commander-in-chief, Mr. Lincoln first ordered the bombardment of Norfolk on May 8.  He then set off in a small boat with his two Cabinet secretaries to conduct a personal reconnaissance on shore.  Troops under the command of Maj. Gen John E. Wool occupied Norfolk on May 10 without facing much resistance.  Once the Confederate garrison at Norfolk was evacuated, the CSS Virginia was scuttled to prevent her capture by the Union navy.  This opened the James River at Hampton Roads to Federal gunboats.

Mr. Lincoln then sent Secretaries Seward and Chase to meet with the General at White House Landing on the Pamunkey to ascertain his plans. They learned that Gen. McClellan might change the army's line of operation to the James River.  Apparently, this did not sit well with Mr. Lincoln either as he ordered McClellan to maintain his army's base at White House.  Ironically, White House is the plantation of W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee, son of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.   Mr. Lincoln returned to Washington on Monday, May 12, having achieved gains in one week that Gen. McClellan did not in months.