Thursday March 27th 1862
The weather continues delightful and the mud has nearly dried up in our streets. There is no particular news afloat today. The Battle near Winchester on Sunday last proves to have been a very severe fight, and a total route to the rebels. The boys have all been up to the camps on the Hill today. No troops are leaving from there yet. Lieut David (James) called here today. Mrs Bassett was here at the time. She is an immense talker and withall rather a vain woman. She amused the Lieut very much. I have been to the Ave this evening, an immense throng there. The City seems to be entirely full. A great many foreighners, particularly Englishmen, are here looking on and “taking Notes.” All nationalities almost are to be met with and almost all languages are heard on the Ave of an evening. German predominates but French and Spanish are very common. Julia is studying French and Spanish and I am paying those languages some attention myself. Think that I will soon be able to read Spanish.
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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.
