The Confederate capital had seen difficult times before, but the spring of 1864 was especially trying. A few prominent persons snuck out of the capital, mostly to flee overseas, but the large majority stayed right where they were. They were confident that Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia would, by some miracle, prevail.

The hospitals of Richmond were completely overwhelmed by the number of wounded men brought by ambulance and horse-cart. The Northern prisoners, on Belle Isle, had already gone through privations, but the shortage of everything made matters much worse for them as well. While the Confederates in Richmond hoped and believed that this would be a repeat of the spring of 1862—when McClellan failed—the Yankee prisoners on the island hoped and prayed for the opposite.