Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft.

Thursday Dec 1^st 1864

Since my last date the Presidential Election has passed off quietly and Mr Lincoln is re-Elected, every non Slave holding State but one (New Jersey) going for him. No very great Battles have been fought lately. Gen^l Grant made an unsuccessful attack upon the Rebel works in Oct. Since which time there has not been much fighting with the “Army of the Potomac.” Gen^l Sheridan defeated the Rebels under Gen^l Early three times within Thirty days, the last Battle “Cedar Creek” about the time of my last date. He has been made a Major Gen^l in the Regular Army for it. Gen^l Sherman left Atlanta on the 12^th Nov. and Struck boldly out for the Atlantic coast through the centre of Georgia. It is the boldest move of the War. He severed himself from all communication with his former base of supplies from Chattanooga or any other “base” as well as from all intercourse with Washington. We now only hear from him through Rebel papers. When last heard from he had been out about two weeks from Atlanta and was said to be forty miles south of A[u]gusta. He has a powerful Army of Veterans, probably fifty thousand men, ten thousand being Cavalry. The Rebels of course are in a state of great excitement and threaten to destroy him totaly but they have not the power to do it, and we shall soon hear of him and his Army from Savannah or Charleston. He is smashing up Rail Roads and all rebel Gov^t property as he goes and living off the Country. What Towns or Cities he has taken we do not know with the exception of Milledgeville the Capital of Georgia, where he distroyed the public Buildings, so the Rebels say. Tonight we learn that Gen^l Thomas has gained an important Victory over the rebel Army under Gen^l Hood at Franklin Tennessee. I went home to L[ong] I[sland] to attend the Election, was gone two weeks. I returned to Washington on the 18^th Nov. On my return I visited Williamstow[n] Mass. Staid there two days. I left Julia there with her uncle C R Taft. She expects to spend a few weeks there and then go to Lyons. Washington is again filling up (it has seemed full all the time). Congress meets next Monday and the members are appearing on the Avenue now quite plenty. I have changed my “base” since my last date. I am now in 488½ on 7^th Betwen D & E Streets, have a large front room on third floor. There are six rooms on this floor, all occupied by very quiet lodgers. Mr Edward Shaw rents the whole floor and sublets the rooms keeping one himself, which he has occupied for eleven years past.