October 30th.—A light, a grim man, and a voice in the room at 4 a.m. awaken me; I am up first; breakfast; more duck, eggs, meat, mighty cakes, milk; to the gun-house, already hung with ducks, and then tramp to the “blinds” with Smith, who talked of the Ingines and wild sports in far Minnesota. As morning breaks, very red and lovely, dark visions and long streaky clouds appear, skimming along from bay or river. The men in the blinds, which are square enclosures of reeds about 4½ feet high, call out “Bay,” “River,” according to the direction from which the ducks are coming. Down we go in blinds; they come; puffs of smoke, a bang, a volley; one bird falls with flop; another by degrees drops, and at last smites the sea; there are five down; in go the dogs. “Who shot that?” “I did.” “Who killed this?” “That’s Tucker’s!” “A good shot.” ‘I don’t know how I missed mine.” Same thing again. The ducks fly prodigious heights—out of all range one would think. It is exciting when the cloud does rise at first. Day voted very bad. Thence I move homeward; talk with Mr. Slater till the trap is ready; and at twelve or so, drive over to Mr. McDonald; find Lamy and Swan there; miserable shed of two-roomed shanty in a marsh; rough deal presses; white-washed walls; fiddler in attendance; dinner of ducks and steak; whisky, and thence proceed to a blind or marsh, amid wooden decoys; but there is no use; no birds; high tide flooding everything; examined McDonald’s stud; knocked to pieces trotting on hard ground. Rowed back to house with Mr. Pennington, and returned to the mansion; all the party had but poor sport; but every one had killed something. Drew lots for bed, and won this time; Lamy, however, would not sleep double, and reposed on a hard sofa in the parlour; indications favourable for ducks. It was curious, in the early morning, to hear the incessant booming of duck-guns, along all the creeks and coves of the indented bays and saltwater marshes; and one could tell when they were fired at decoys, or were directed against birds in the air; heard a salute fired at Baltimore very distinctly. Lamy and Mr. McDonald met in their voyage up the Nile, to kill ennui and spend money.
October 2011
WEDNESDAY 30
Another delightful day, have not been round much. Was at the Pat office awhile, met my old friend Burrows Hyde of Jersey City. Have been trying my hand at soldering up holes in tin ware, succeeded pretty well. Wife and Julia are at Mr Middletons, our neighbors. Julia spent last evening at Doct Everitts. I went up after her at 9 o’clock & staid an hour. News in the City seems to be rather scarce.
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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.
Wednesday.—Captain and Mrs. W. N. dined with us to-day. It was gratifying to see him look so well, after the intense suffering through which he has passed. He was borne from the field of Manassas, with what seemed to be a mortal wound; a ball had passed through his body. But, thanks to a merciful Providence, good nursing and surgery have saved his valuable life. We are now planning to go to the lower country, but when and where we do not know.
OCTOBER 30TH.—I understand a dreadful quarrel is brewing between Mr. Benjamin and Gen. Beauregard. Gen. B. being the only individual ever hinted at as an opponent of Mr. Davis for the Presidency, the Secretary of War fights him on vantage-ground, and likewise commends himself to the President. Van Buren was a good politician in his day, and so is Mr. Benjamin in his way. I hope these dissensions may expend themselves without injury to the country.
October 30.—At Worcester, England, the Conservative Association celebrated its anniversary by a dinner at the Shire Hall. About six hundred persons attended, the hall and anteroom being crowded to inconvenience. The chair was taken by Sir E. A. H. Lechmere. “The House of Lords” having been proposed by Captain Candler, the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbet responded. The House of Lords, he said, was an institution highly valued, and, if he might be allowed to say so, deservedly esteemed by the nation. It had often been said by noisy democrats and clamorous republicans, that the House of Lords was of no use. Reference had been made by previous speakers to the unhappy contention that was going on on the other side of the Atlantic. (Hear.) In America they saw democracy on its trial, and they saw how it failed. (Hear.) He was afraid the result would show that the separation of the two great sections of that country was inevitable, and these who lived long enough would, in his opinion, see an aristocracy established in America. He would not say an aristocracy of dukes and earls, but an aristocracy of some sort or other, so great was the necessity of having a middle state between democracy and despotism. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the present Government, he said they had kept themselves in power by advocating one set of principles and practising another. Lord Palmerston had been connected with every party that had been in office in his time, and he likened him to a successful political Blondin— (laughter)—who from his political tight rope looked down from the giddiest heights, only caring to keep himself where he was.—London Times, November 1.
—The Fifty-first New York regiment, Colonel Ferrero, left New York City for Washington.—N. Y. Times, Oct. 31.
—The schooner Elite, which left Savannah with a cargo of naval stores, bound for Havana, and was stranded off Warsaw beach while going out, was visited by three launches, from a U. S. steamer, with about one hundred and fifty men and one howitzer or mortar, to take possession of or burn the wreck. Captain Anderson, in command of the forces on Warsaw Island, immediately sent out a considerable force from the intrenchments, ordering them through the woods to a point opposite the wreck, and within musket-shot of the boats, when the latter should reach their destination. The party lay in ambush until the launches got within reach, when they sallied out upon the beach and opened fire upon them. The salutation was returned with shells, and the firing was kept up for some time. When the boats commenced firing shell, Captain Anderson turned the guns of the fort upon them and kept up the fire until dark came on, though they were too far round the point of the island for the shots to be directed with accuracy.—Savannah Republican, November 1.
—Citations issued from the Court of Admiralty of the Confederate States, South Carolina, distinctly call upon all persons in general, except citizens of the United States, “who claim any interest in the brigs Betsy Ames and Granada, to show cause, if any they have, why the said vessels should not be condemned as lawful prizes of war.”—(Doc. 116.)
—John C. Breckinridge has published a manifesto to the people of Kentucky. It is dated at Bowling Green, and he says it is written at the first moment since his expulsion from home that he could place his feet on the soil of Kentucky. In it he resigns his seat as a member of the Senate of the United States, saying, “I exchange, with proud satisfaction, a term of six years in the United States Senate for the musket of a soldier.” The address is very long. He says, “there is no longer a Senate of the United States within the meaning and spirit of the Constitution”—”the United States no longer exists—the Union is dissolved.”— (Doc. 117.)
—A Letter, published in the National Intelligencer, at Washington, gives a circumstantial account of the cruise of the U. S. ship Powhattan in pursuit of the privateer Sumter, and a minute description of that vessel. Her crew is, the letter states, made up of men of all nations, the greater part being Portuguese, Spaniards, and English, and the writer expresses the opinion that she will finally turn pirate against all commerce.—(Doc. 119.)
October 30. Tompkins Farm.— [I] walked with Captain Gaines two and one-half or three miles down to Gauley Bridge. Called on Major William H. Johnston and Swan, paymaster and clerk for our regiment [for] Cracraft, quartermaster sergeant, who wanted Dr. McCurdy’s pay. To get it, drew my own and sent him two hundred and sixty dollars and blank power-of-attorney to me to draw his pay. The doctor is sick and wants to go home. Our regiment suffers severely with camp fever. About one hundred and twenty absent, mostly sick, and as many more prescribed for here. This out of nine hundred and fifty. Severe marches, ill-timed, in rain, etc., etc., is one great cause. Then, most of our men have been used to comfortable homes, and this exposed life on these mountains is too much for them.
Well, we dined at a Virginia landlady’s, good coffee, good biscuit; in short, a good homelike dinner. Walked immediately back.
Tuesday, 29th—Several new companies of the Thirteenth Iowa Infantry were sworn into the United States service today. Marcellus M. Crocker of Des Moines is to be their colonel.
Tuesday, October 29. — Off at last. Last night we steamed out towards the sea about four miles, and then anchored. This morning I was waked up about 6 o’clock by the moving of the paddle-wheels. By the time I was up and dressed, which was about 8 o’clock, I found that we had at last fastened our tow-line to the Ocean Express, and about ten we started slowly on our way, with the most delightful weather imaginable, the air being warmer than it had been for some days previous, and the sea being moderately calm. When we passed Cape Henry we could see the lighthouse standing up boldly on a barren sand-hill, and no signs of civilization visible except two small huts, situated at the foot of the light- house. To make the place seem still more desolate than nature had made it, a wrecked schooner could be plainly seen about half a mile from the lighthouse, a monument of the wickedness of these rebels who destroy lighthouses as well as try to destroy their government. The cape is a barren, desolate spot, with high sand-hills rising up in the background, and gradually decreasing in size until they terminate in a narrow sand-spit. We passed within two miles, and might easily have been disabled by a battery placed there. The sight of so many vessels leaving the port at once, with different colored flags on their masts as signals or to denote their names, was a most beautiful one. When we had passed the cape, our tow-line parted, repairing which delayed us about an hour. We finally got off at two o’clock, proceeding as slowly as possible all the afternoon, in order to keep with the rest of the fleet.
The sea was pretty rough all the day, but most of the ships stood it well except the ferry-boats. In the evening different signals were displayed from the war-ships, of red, white, blue, and green lights, which looked very prettily, flashing up as they did on all sides of us. I spoke to Captain Hascall about getting me a place on General Wright’s staff as volunteer aide. A society was formed for the “confusion of useless knowledge” the other evening, and we had a meeting this evening.
29th.—A little occurrence of a very unpleasant nature, today. I have, for a long time, felt that my Colonel was interfering with the Medical Department of the Regiment, to an extent not warranted by the rules of war, and greatly to the prejudice of the health of the men. Seeing so many sick around me, I became excited, and said to him that his interference must stop; that I would submit to it no longer. He considered this insubordination, or something worse, and used language which I construed into a threat of Court-Martial. This was not very soothing to my excitement, or my excitability, and I wrote him a defiant note, inviting him to put his threat in execution. I know it is an offence against military law to use either insulting or disrespectful language to superior officers; and I felt that it was against the law of self-respect to submit to be forever trampled on, so as one of these laws had to be violated, I took my choice. Perhaps I did wrong. The result will show.
TUESDAY 29
This has been a most delightful day. I have travelled a good deal about the City mostly on business for other people. I was at the Private qrs of Genl McClellan. Saw the Genl, also my old friend John Cochran of NY, now “Col Cochran.” I was at the office of the Sec’y of the Interior on my own business, was assured that I was to have an appointment very soon. The City is now very full of strangers, mostly I presume connected in some way with the Army.
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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.
