SUNDAY 16
It has been a fine comfortable day with a good breeze. Attended the service at the 12th Regt quarters, the Chaplin (Mathew Hale Smith) officiating. Large numbers of citizens attend every Sunday morning. The Regt is expecting orders every hour to move over the River into Virginia. The Dress Parade was attended by thousands of spectators. Walked down to Willards to hear the news but found not much afloat today, but plenty of reports flying about.
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The three diary manuscript volumes, Washington during the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865, are available online at The Library of Congress.