SATURDAY 20
A fine pleasant day. No troops today, all stoped beyond Balt. Bridges destroyed, track torn up and the Steam Ferry Boat over the Susquehannah scuttled and sunk. Balt in the hands of the mob. A critical time for Washington. A large body of Rebels at Alexandria and an attack upon the City may be expected any hour. I went to the Depot and to the Capitol again tonight. The Mass. Regnt marched out and through Pa Ave to 15 st making a fine appearance and being cheered frequently by the people. The Hotels are full and all seem agreed that Balt is a doomed City. 12 o’c.
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.