MONDAY 14
Something of a snowstorm today. Tonight is more like rain freezing as it falls. The walks are a glade of ice. There appears to be a more hopeful feeling abroad today in reference to the affairs of the country. The Govt is geting into the hands of Union men. The Cabinet is now composed entirely of that class. Genl Dix taking the place of Thomas. His first assistant (Clayton) has also resigned to save himself from being turned out. It is rumored today that all “seceders” are to be turned out if they do not resign their posts in the different Depts. Spent the evening next door, Mr Bartletts, clerk in State Dept.
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.