December 25, 1864: Lincoln Opens His Present

Several of you have wondered about the telegram William T. Sherman sent Abraham Lincoln presenting the city of Savannah and various sundry items. Sherman sent the message on December 22, and you’ve seen that text. This is the text Lincoln saw three days later:

So, as you can see, the message went up via water to Fort Monroe, Virginia, where it arrived on December 25; it was immediately wired to Washington at the War Department.