Mary had written a number of verses for the soldiers, and they had been printed as leaflets, each one floated over by the flag in red and blue, and distributed widely among the enlisted men. The first of these was A Rainy Day in Camp. . It’s a cheerless, lonesome evening, When the soaking, sodden [...]

Eliza Woolsey Howland to Chaplain Hopkins. Washington, D. C., April 1st, 1862. Dear Mr. Hopkins: I send some Independents with the “Rainy day” in them. We mentioned that you liked the verses, and Abby sent these on for you to distribute among your patients. We spent last Sunday near Alexandria . . . glad to [...]

From Mother’s Journal. Saturday, March 29. To camp again. Snow-storm. Stayed at Mrs. Bright’s cottage Saturday night and drove up to camp on Sunday. Service in hospital tent, Dr. Miller, of the 16th, and Dr. Adams, of the 5th Maine, officiating. Communion–about thirty soldiers and several officers partaking. Heavy and continual thunder, with everything outside [...]

Eliza’s Journal. March 21. A damp, drizzly day, but I wanted to see Joe in camp once more, and we went down to Alexandria, where Mother and Hatty distributed a lot of sweet flowers to the poor fingerless, one-armed and broken-legged fellows in the hospital, while I went on. Joe has only had command of [...]

Georgeanna’s Journal. March 20. We have been getting some stores to-day for Will Winthrop. They are at last delighted by the order to join Heintzelman. Twenty to thirty thousand men have gone in the transports already. Will’s black mess-boy came in to us and took out a basket with enough for the voyage. Have been [...]

Eliza’s Journal. March 14. One of General Franklin’s aids has been in to say that his Division is now marching into Alexandria and is to embark on Saturday or Sunday, down the Potomac. . . . We went down to Alexandria and took lodgings at Mrs. Dyson’s, on Water street, for over Sunday, and two [...]

Georgeanna’s Journal. March 13 While we were cooking some arrowroot in our parlor for a Vermont private, sick in this hotel, Joe came in, back from Fairfax for a ride. The officers had been all over the old battlefield at Bull Run, McDowell crying, and all of them serious enough. The rebel works at Centreville, [...]

Eliza to Joe Howland. March 12, ‘62. Charley has come back safe and sound via Baltimore from Roanoke, with rebel bowie knives, “shin-plasters,” etc. He is ready to keep with us or go South when we go. He brought up parcels and letters from General Burnside for friends in New York, and took them on [...]

Georgeanna’s Journal. March 12 The most extraordinary movements are taking place. While I write the 85th Pennsylvania is scattered about at rest on 14th street, having just marched back from the other side of the river. The 14th New York Cavalry, dismounted and serving as infantry, marched up before them; wagons filled with baggage, blankets, [...]

Georgeanna’s Journal. March 11. So the great move was made, the thing we had been looking forward to for so many months. The entire army was in motion, troops on the other side the river advancing, troops on this side taking their place. All day Monday and far into the night regiments marched over the [...]

Eliza’s Journal.We went to bed in a state of great excitement and were awakened early Monday morning by a knock from George and a note from Joe saying it was all true. He wrote at 2 A. M., having been up all night. They had just received their marching orders–the brigade to leave at 5 [...]

Georgeanna’s Journal. March 10. All strange rumors come on Sunday. Josepha Crosby, Hatty and I went down to spend the afternoon at the Patent Office Hospital. During the week the camps had been emptied of convalescents, sent north to recover, and their places in the hospitals were occupied by others. The Patent Office is full [...]

Jane Stuart Woolsey to Eliza.. March 10, ‘62. Theodore Bronson has just called to say that he saw Mr. Woolsey (Charley) in Baltimore last night all well. He saw his name in the papers as bearer of despatches and wondered whether he really had any, or if it was a sort of passport. I am [...]

Eliza‘s journal. March 9. A day of great excitement, for beside the news of the evacuation of Leesburg and the capture of Cockpit Point battery, we have the great naval fight at Fortress Monroe. The great demon ship, the Merrimac, came down from Norfolk toward Newport News and attacked our ships Congress and Cumberland, destroying [...]

Eliza‘s journal. Saturday, March 8th. The item this morning is that Colonel Davies was confirmed yesterday by the Senate as Brigadier General, so J. is now Colonel of the 16th by unanimous choice of the officers, and will take command at once.[1] He writes by the orderly that he has been with General Slocum to [...]

March. Dear Girls: May is busy concocting things for a fair she and Bertha hold to-day, for the benefit of our “brave volunteers.” Papa and mamma and aunties are to buy the things, and May is to spend the money in little books, the first day she is well enough to come over. Robert asked [...]

Wednesday, February 26. Encouraged by several windy days, which were likely to dry the roads, we ventured out to Joe’s camp for the first time since early in January, to show it to Mother and Hatty. The roads were unexpectedly good, the only really bad places being near the camp. J. had dined, but gave [...]

Eliza Woolsey Howland to Joe Howland. February 21 We went yesterday to the Navy Yard and were very much interested in all we saw. They make 15,000 Enfield rifle and musket balls in every twelve hours, or 30,000 while (as now) they work day and night! They also turn out 800 rifled and other cannon [...]

February 18th. We have just packed and despatched Charley for Baltimore and Fortress Monroe, and are now writing notes of introduction for Mr. Vincent Colyer, who is to join him at the Fortress, and if possible take him with him to Roanoke and Port Royal. I have given him a note to Mr. Withers, and [...]

February 13. I have nothing more than the usual “all right” to tell you, but you must always have that. We ought to congratulate each other on the good news from Roanoke Island and Tennessee, which quite thrilled us all yesterday. We were out at Will Winthrop’s camp when the boys cried the “Star” and [...]

One of the alleviations of the situation at the Ebbitt House just at this time was the coming in now and then of the family cousin William Winthrop, from his camp near Washington, or an occasional jolly, not to say audacious, note from him. William Winthrop to Georgeanna. Headquarters Berdan’s U. S. Sharpshooters, February…….. Dear Mrs. [...]

Eliza’s Journal. February 4. Mother and all of us went down to Alexandria to visit the hospitals,–Charley provided with camp bed, blankets, etc. to go out and make Joe a visit. Joe met us in Alexandria with the General, and a spare horse for Charley. . . . Saturday afternoon Joe came in from camp [...]

Eliza’s Journal. February 1. We all went to the Wilkes’s Friday evening–a very pleasant little party. General McClellan could not come, but there were five other generals, FitzJohn Porter, Stoneman, Barry and Butterfield; also Commodore Shubrick, Commodore Wilkes, Judge Loring and family, the Prussian minister and family, and a good many lesser lights. General Seth [...]

Eliza Woolsey Howland to Joe Howland. Jan. 30th. The only thing of interest I have to tell you is of a very nice call we had last evening from General Williams (your friend Seth). He got Miss Wilkes to bring him round and introduce him, and told us he had long wanted to call on [...]