May 15.—Busy every moment of time packing up, that our furniture may be safely put away in case of a sudden removal. The parlor furniture has been rolled into the Laboratory, and covered, to keep it from injury; the books are packed up; the pictures put away with care; house linen locked up, and all other things made as secure as possible. We do not hope to remove many things, but to prevent their ruin. We are constantly told that a large army would do great injury if quartered near us; therefore we want to put things out of the reach of the soldiers, for I have no idea that officers would allow them to break locks, or that they would allow our furniture to be interfered with. We have a most unsettled feeling—with carpets up, curtains down, and the rooms without furniture; but a constant excitement, and expectation of we know not what, supplants all other feelings. Nothing but nature is pleasant, and that is so beautiful! The first roses of the season are just appearing, and the peonies are splendid; but the horrors of war, with which we are so seriously threatened, prevent the enjoyment of any thing. I feel so much for the Southerners of Maryland; I am afraid they are doomed to persecution, but it does seem so absurd in Maryland and Kentucky to talk of armed neutrality in the present state of the country! Let States, like individuals, be independent—be something or nothing. I believe that the very best people of both States are with us, but are held back by stern necessity. Oh that they could burst the bonds that bind them, and speak and act like freemen! The Lord reigneth; to Him only can we turn, and humbly pray that He may see fit to say to the troubled waves, “Peace, be still!” We sit at our windows, and see the bosom of our own Potomac covered with the sails of vessels employed by the enemies of our peace. I often wish myself far away, that I, at least, might not see these things. The newspapers are filled with the boastings of the North, and yet I cannot feel alarmed. My woman’s heart does not quail, even though they come, as they so loudly threaten, as an avalanche to overwhelm us. Such is my abiding faith in the justice of our cause, that I have no shadow of doubt of our success.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
WEDNESDAY 15
This has been a fine airy day. The RI Regt is a[l]most gone from the Pat office. Troops are coming into the City every day. It is so common now to see Regts march through the streets that it is hardly known where they come from by the crowd. Went to hear the music at the Prests this evening. The R.I. Band played, quite a crowd there. Lord Lyon quite prominent. 4000 troops were marching on the Ave when we came away. Went into all the Hotels tonight. Not much excitement, but there is “something in the wind.” Genl Butler will be heard from soon.
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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.
MAY 15th. —From my window at the top of the house, I see corn in silk and tassel. Three days ago the corn I saw was not three inches high. And blackberries are in season. Strawberries and peas are gone.
This city is mostly situated in a bottom on the Alabama River.
Being fatigued I did not visit the departments to-day, but employed myself in securing lodgings at a boarding-house. Here I met, the first time, with my friend Dr. W. T. Sawyer, of Hollow Square, Alabama. A skillful surgeon and Christian gentleman, his mission on earth seems to be one of pure beneficence. He had known me before we met, it appears; and I must say he did me many kind offices.
In the afternoon I walked to the capitol, a fine structure with massive columns, on a beautiful elevation, where I delivered several letters to the Virginia delegation in Congress. They were exceedingly kind to me, and proffered their services very freely.
The last diary page of Rutherford B. Hayes before he entered the Union Army for the War.
May 15, 1861.—Judge Matthews and I have agreed to go into the service for the war,—if possible into the same regiment. I spoke my feelings to him, which he said were his also, viz., that this was a just and necessary war and that it demanded the whole power of the country; that I would prefer to go into it if I knew I was to die or be killed in the course of it, than to live through and after it without taking any part in it.
MAY 15, 1861.
Colonel Blenker And Gentlemen Of The First Regiment Of Rifles,— I have the honor to present this stand of colors to your regiment. It is the flag which for three-quarters of a century has been hailed in every quarter of the inhabited globe as the emblem of Constitutional liberty, and the beacon of hope to the oppressed of all nations.
In rushing with generous ardor to the rescue of our flag, you have given to your fellow-citizens a most gratifying proof of the patriotism and the devotion of our German population to the land of their adoption and choice. A large number of you have fled from oppression and tyranny in the Old World, after having in vain shed your blood for the liberties of your country on many a hardfought battle-field in Hungary and Germany.
You have found on these hospitable shores protection, freedom, and loving hearts, and in offering now the sacrifice of your lives on the altar of your adopted country you pay a debt of gratitude for the blessings vouchsafed to you under our liberal institutions.
Our most fervent prayers follow you to the path of duty and honor which you have chosen. May the Almighty, who has thus far showered His choicest blessings upon our cherished Union, protect her brave defenders. May He watch over you in the hour of danger, and may He grant you to return in safety to your homes and firesides after every star in this bright constellation shall have been restored, to abide with its sisters in union and peace to the end of time.
From Mother.
May 15, 1861.
My dear Eliza: Thank you and Joe for your letters received this morning. I was hoping to see you here today, and on reading these letters telling of Joe’s sudden departure, and thinking of you as all alone at your house, I at once concluded to go up, Charley and I, by the three o’clock train. I was all packed up to start when your telegram was brought in. I felt relieved to get it, because I was going off in a little uncertainty as to whether we might not possibly pass you on the road, on your way to us. I hope you will come, and Joe too, if he can. He must now I suppose obey orders—a somewhat new position for him! Should the regiment be ordered to Washington, perhaps you might feel like going on there for a while, at least, But remember, my dear child, your home is with us still, for as long as you choose. —Indeed, I think you had better come to us altogether—at any rate we must manage to keep an eye over you, and all of us must look on the bright side and hope for the best. How comforting to fall back at such times to that invisible arm which is ever ready for our support and which, I trust, is leading in all this movement. Charley waits for the letter, and I will only add my tender love to you both. Many thanks to Joe for his letters.
Your loving Mother
As soon as J. H. was mustered in, G. began to urge that she and E. should go as army nurses. Mother writes: “Georgy is more earnest than ever about being a nurse for the soldiers. I shall never consent to this arrangement unless some of her own family go with her.”
May 15, 1861.
I supposed you would go to Albany; I am sure I should, and I hope you will take into serious consideration the small plan I suggested to you about being a nurse — at any rate about fitting yourself as far as you can for looking after the sick, if you go, as I suppose you will want to, to Washington in the fall with Joe. I invite you to join me. Mrs. Trotter and I were yesterday examined by the Medical Committee, Drs. Delafield, Wood and Harris, and with ten other women admitted to the course of instruction at the New York Hospital. We are to learn how to make beds for the wounded, cook food properly for the sick, wash and dress wounds, and other things as they come along in the proper care of the wards — fresh air, etc. Not that we have any idea of really going south now, no one will till the fall, and two or three companies of ten each who are fitting themselves at Bellevue Hospital will at any rate go first. Then if there is really a necessity for more nurses we shall send substitutes agreeing to pay their expenses,—unless the opposition in the family has come to an end, in which case, having tested our strength and endurance a little in this training, we shall be very glad to carry out our plan and go. We three might very usefully employ ourselves in Washington if we went no further south, and I shall not be satisfied at all to stay at home while Joe is down there. So, my dear, be keeping the little plan in view in making your arrangements, and don’t say a word to anybody about our being at the Hospital; I don’t want to have to fight my way all through the course, and be badgered by the connection generally, besides giving a strict account of myself at home. We all mean to be very brave about Joe, and I am sure you will be;—it’s a way you have; especially as you and I, and perhaps Mrs. Trotter, will be near him in Washington at one of the hotels or hospitals.
—A proclamation of neutrality with respect to the Secession rebellion is issued by Queen Victoria, in which all subjects of Great Britain are forbidden to enter the service of the contending parties, or to endeavor “to break a blockade lawfully and effectually established.” —(Doc. 168.)
—The bark Ocean Eagle, Capt. Luce, from Rockland, Me., with 3,144 casks of lime, consigned to Creevy & Farwell, was captured by the privateer steamer Calhoun, of New Orleans. —N. O. Picayune, May 17.
—Two yachts, belonging to private individuals, were formally accepted by the Government, and detailed for service by the Treasury Department. Their owners, James Gordon Bennett, jr., of New York, and T. P. Ives, of Providence, R. I., were commissioned as Lieutenants in the Revenue service, and ordered to their respective vessels as Lieutenants commanding.—N. Y. Tribune, May 16.
—Bishop Whittingham, the head of the Episcopal Church in Maryland, addressed a circular to the several Episcopal clergymen of his diocese, forbidding hereafter the omission of the prayer for the President of the United States from the regular church service; which had been done by a few disunion persons under his jurisdiction.—(Doc. 169.)
—The town of Potosi, in Washington county, Mo., was taken possession of, under orders of Gen. Lyon, by Captain Coles, of company A, Fifth Regiment, of United States volunteers.—(Doc. 169½.)
