SUNDAY, MAY 19, 1861.
Cool today, fire in Parlor in the morning. Went with Juliet to the camp of the 12th Regt in the morning and heard Rev Mathew Hale Smith (the Chaplin of the Regt) deliver an eloquent discourse to the soldiers. Got to church in time from there and heard Doct Smith, a good many soldiers in the house. Lieut [Millward?] of the 12th called in the evening. He lives in NY, an Englishman by birth. Went down onto the Ave at 6 o’ck and saw the Mich Regt parade. Their Band of Music is very fine. Back before dark, Juliet was with me.
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.