Thursday Feb 13th 1862
A bright pleasant day. No particular news, but many rumors of fighting West. I have been in the office, am there every day filling out Patents or Deeds & recording them. Julia has Miss Hartly and two of the Miss Middletons here tonight. I have been down to the National. Called at Chas on my return from the Ave –. Mr Hartly called for Mat[ty] at 1/2 past 9. Willie coughs a good deal. Bud & Holly went to the Capitol today.
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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.