May 10.—Jeff Davis was captured to-day at Irwinsville, Ga., when he was attempting to escape in woman’s apparel. Mr. Green drew a picture of him, and Mr. Finley made photographs from it. We bought one as a souvenir of the war. The big headlines in the papers this morning say, “The hunt is up. He [...]
May 7.—Anna and I wore our new poke bonnets to church this morning and thought we looked quite “ scrumptious,” but Grandmother said after we got home, if she had realized how unbecoming they were to us and to the house of the Lord, she could not have countenanced them enough to have sat in [...]
April 24.–Fannie Gaylord and Kate Lapham have returned from their eastern trip and told us of attending the President’s funeral in Albany, and I had a letter from Bessie Seymour, who is in New York, saying that she walked in the procession until half past two in the morning, in order to see his face. [...]
April 26.–Now we have the news that J. Wilkes Booth, who shot the President and who has beenconcealing himself in Virginia, has been caught, and refusing to surrender was shot dead. It has taken just twelve days to bring him to retribution. I am glad that he is dead if he could not be taken [...]
Thursday, April 20.–The papers are full of the account of the funeral obsequies of President Lincoln. We take Harper’s Weekly and every event is pictured so vividly it seems as though we were eye witnesses of it all. The picture of “Lincoln at home” is beautiful. What a dear, kind man he was. It is [...]
Wednesday evening, April 19, 1865.–This being the day set for the funeral of Abraham Lincoln at Washington, it was decided to hold the service today, instead of Thursday, as previously announced in the Congregational church. All places of business were closed and the bells of the village churches tolled from half past ten till eleven [...]
Sunday, Easter Day, April 16.–I went to church this morning. The pulpit and choir were covered with flags festooned with crape. Although a very disagreeable day, the house was well filled. The first hymn sung was “Oh God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.” Dr. Daggett’s prayer, I can never [...]
April 15.–The news came this morning that our dear president, Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated yesterday, on the day appointed for thanksgiving for Union victories. I have felt sick over it all day and so has every one that I have seen. All seem to feel as though they had lost a personal friend, and tears [...]
Monday, April 10. – “Whether I am in the body, or out of the body, I know not, but one thing I know,” Lee has surrendered! and all the people seem crazy in consequence. The bells are ringing, boys and girls, men and women are running through the streets wild with excitement; the flags are [...]
Sunday, April 9.–There were great crowds at church this morning. Dr. Daggett’s text was from Prov. 18: 10: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” It was a very fine sermon. They sang hymns relating to our country and Dr. Daggett’s prayers were full of [...]
Saturday, April 8.–The cannon has fired a salute of thirty-six guns to celebrate the fall of Richmond. This evening the streets were thronged with men, women and children all acting crazy as if they had not the remotest idea where they were or what they were doing. Atwater block was beautifully lighted and the band [...]
April, 1865.–What a month this has been. On the 6th of April Governor Fenton issued this proclamation: “Richmond has fallen. The wicked men who governed the so-called Confederate States have fled their capital, shorn of their power and influence. The rebel armies have been defeated, broken and scattered. Victory everywhere attends our banners and our [...]
March 29.–An officer arrived here from the front yesterday and he said that, on Saturday morning, shortly after the battle commenced which resulted so gloriously for the Union in front of Petersburg, President Lincoln, accompanied by General Grant and staff, started for the battlefield, and reached there in time to witness the close of the [...]
March 20.–Hardly a day passes that we do not hear news of Union victories. Everyone predicts that the war is nearly at an end.
March 5. – I have just read President Lincoln’s second inaugural address. It only takes five minutes to read it but, oh, how much it contains. The tender words with which President Lincoln closed this inaugural address were as follows:– “If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offences which in the [...]
November.–They are holding Union Revival Services in town now. One evangelist from out of town said he would call personally at the homes and ask if all were Christians. Anna told Grandmother if he came here she should tell him about her. Grandmother said we must each give an account for ourselves. Anna said she [...]
October 1.–Mr Noah T. Clarke accompanied his brother to-day to the old home in Naples and found two other soldier brothers, William and Joseph, had just arrived on leave of absence from the army so the mother’s heart sang “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” The fourth brother has also returned to his home [...]
September 30.–To-day the “Benjamin” of the family reached home under the care of Dr J. Byron Hayes, who was sent to Washington after him. I went over to Mr Noah T. Clarke’s to see him and found him just a shadow of his former self. However, “hope springs eternal in the human breast” and he [...]
September 1.–My war letters come from Georgetown Hospital now. Mr Noah T. Clarke is very anxious and sends telegrams to Andrew Chesebro every day to go and see his brother.
August.–The New York State S. S.¹ Convention was held in Buffalo and among others Fanny Gaylord, Mary Field and myself attended. We had a fine time and were entertained at the home of Mr and Mrs Sexton. Her mother is living with her, a dear old lady who was Judge Atwater’s daughter and used to [...]
July 10.–We have had word of the death of Spencer F. Lincoln. One more brave soldier sacrificed.
June 23, 1864. – Anna graduated last Thursday, June 16, and was valedictorian of her class. There were eleven girls in the class, Ritie Tyler, Mary Antes, Jennie Robinson, Hattie Paddock, Lillie Masters, Abbie Hills, Miss McNair, Miss Pardee and Miss Palmer, Miss Jasper and Anna. The subject of her essay was “The Last Time.” [...]
June 22.–Captain Morris Brown, of Penn Yan, was killed to-day by a musket shot in the head, while commanding the regiment before Petersburg.
May.–The 4th New York Heavy Artillery is having hard times in the Virginia mud and rain. They are near Culpepper. It is such a change from their snug winter quarters at Fort Ethan Allen. There are 2,800 men in the Regiment and 1,200 are sick. Dr Charles S. Hoyt of the 126th, which is camping [...]
May 16.–I have not written in my diary for a month and it has been the saddest month of my life. Dear, dear Grandfather is dead. He was buried May 2, just two weeks from the day that he returned from New York. We did everything for him that could be done, but at the [...]