SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 1861.
A very hot day. Went to church this morning with Julia, Willie, and Surgeon Barnes of the 27th. Doct Smith preached. It commenced to rain about 5 o’clock and rained till near night very hard, flooding the lower part of the City. Guns were heard over the River, some fighting probably. It would not much surprise us to hear a genl cannonade over there any day, as an attack may be expected anytime. The air is quite cool since the rain and more rain in prospect.
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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.