FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 1861.
A Mild and pleasant day but I think people feel much like wearing sackcloth and observing the day as recommended. There has been services at most of the churches which were crowded. Myself and wife went to the Capitol to hear Doct Stockton the Chaplin at the “House.” The Hall of Congress was crowded to excess and the services were very solemn. The “Rattle Snake” and the “pitiful Palmetto” even alluded to in connection with the “Eagle” and the glorious “Stars and Stripes.” Stores &c all closed.
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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.
