President holds morning conference with Gen. Meigs regarding expedition against certain Southern ports. Extracts from Meigs Diary, John G. Nicolay Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Recommends such legislation by Congress as necessary for U.S. to participate in industrial fair in London. Abraham Lincoln to the Senate and House of Representatives, [16] July 1861, CW, 4:450-51.

In the evening, President Lincoln hosts a "reception." A newspaper reports, "Mrs. Lincoln never looked better, and drew around her a large circle of friend[s] and admirers." The "appearance of the old veteran, Gen. [Winfield] Scott" highlights the evening. The seventy-five-year-old Scott is the Commanding General of the U.S. Army. The report continues, "No sooner was it whispered through the east room that . . . Scott was with the President than every body rushed in that direction, and for a few moments the pressure of the crowd was really 'awful.'" Evening Star (Washington, DC), 17 July 1861, 2:1.