The city of Washington, DC, prepared for the Confederate assault in the midst of one of the worst hot spells in its history that lasted 47 days without rain with temperatures exceeding . The US Congress and prominent residents left town to escape the heat as much as the impending Confederate advance. However, President Lincoln remained near the city, staying with his family at the Soldier's Home in present-day Northwest Washington, but a steamer waited on the Potomac to evacuate them if the situation became dire. Meanwhile, refugees from surrounding counties began to enter the relative safety of the city.