half past ten o'clock
He knew their sterling worth to the Republic and he meant to use them in the tremendous task before him . He had hoped the battle would not be joined until Monday . But he knew at dawn that a clash was inevitable . At half past ten o'clock , though keenly anxious for the first news from the front , he was ready to accompany Mrs. Lincoln to church . The breeze was from the South -- a hot , lazy , midsummer heavy air . The Commander-in-Chief bent his giant figure over a war map , spread on his desk , fixed the position of each army by colored pins , studied them a moment and quietly walked with his wife to the Presbyterian Church to hear Dr. Gurley preach . He sat in reverent silence through the service , his soul hovering over the distant hills .