In the morning, President Lincoln and Secretary of War Simon Cameron review two Pennsylvania regiments. Sun (Baltimore, MD), 20 June 1861, 2:2.

Confers with Adjt. Gen. Thomas on military appointments. Abraham Lincoln to Lorenzo Thomas, 19 June 1861, CW, 4:413.

President Lincoln writes to Ninian W. Edwards, who is married to Elizabeth Todd, Mary Lincoln's sister. Edwards, of Springfield, Illinois, wrote to Lincoln seeking a government position. Lincoln explains, "I thought I would inquire into the thing and write you, but the extraordinary pressure upon me diverted me from it, and soon it passed out of my mind. . . . I am unwilling, of course, that you should be deprived of a chance to make something, if it can be done without injustice to the Government, or to any individual." Abraham Lincoln to Ninian W. Edwards, 19 June 1861, CW, 4:412.

From the entrance of the White House, President Lincoln watches as the First Massachusetts Regiment, under the command of Colonel Robert Cowdin, passes in review. A newspaper reports, "After the column . . . passed the President, the crowd of lookers on made a rush toward him to greet him and shake hands. The stampede and competition to obtain a recognition from his Excellency was so great that the guard of the regiment had to interfere to prevent the crowd from killing the President with kindness. What made the crowd more unpleasant to the President was that he had been standing beneath a broiling sun during the passing of the regiment, and was quite fatigued." Afterward, Lincoln meets with various individuals, including the President of the Boston and Worcester Railroad, Ginery Twitchell. Lincoln then "took his leave, saying that he was very busy preparing for the assembling of Congress." New York Herald, 20 June 1861, 1:1-2; Warren H. Cudworth, History of the First Regiment (Massachusetts Infantry) (Boston: Walker, Fuller, and Company, 1866), 28-29.

Announces that he will receive no visitors until the opening of the special session of Congress on July 4, 1861. National Republican (Washington, DC), 20 June 1861, 2:3; New York Times, 20 June 1861.

In the evening, President Lincoln and his wife, Mary, visit the Navy Yard, where they watch New York's 71st Regiment perform drills. A newspaper reports, "The usual salute was fired." New York Daily Tribune, 20 June 1861, 4:6.