FRIDAY 24
This has been a day of excitement. 10,000 troops crossed the Potomac this morning early at different points near the City. Col Ellsworth with his Zuaves went to Alexandria on Steamers. . . He was shot dead at the “Marshall House” where he had taken down a “Secession” Flag, by a man named Jackson, who kept the House. There was no opposition in the town. Ellsworths death created intense excitement here. Our troops are throwing up entrenchments opposite. I saw them today with a Glass from top of Pat office.
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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.
