SUNDAY 20
Cooler today, and quite windy, but did not freeze till night. Did not go to church today. Took care of the house while the rest of the family went. Read the “Times” “Herald” and Partons last Vol of Jackson. There are so many villinous looking fellows roaming about the City, that that [sic] it seems necessary for some one to be on the watch all the time. Burglaries and incendiary fires occur every night. I sleep with a loaded “revolver” within reach every night. Took a walk with the boys round Lafayette Square this evening and did not go out again. The air was cool and bracing. It freezes tonight.
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.