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Washington During the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865
Critical Thinking

Taft's diary page for October 5, 1851.

[Detail] The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865

Chronological Thinking: The Civil War

photo of soldiers being buried

Fredericksburg, Va. Burial of soldiers. May 1864.

The Civil War Photographs collection in American Memory includes a detailed timeline of the Civil War. Choose one of the years for which Horatio Nelson Taft made a significant number of entries. Use the Civil War Photographs timeline for that year as a base for a timeline. Expand the timeline by incorporating selections from the Taft diaries corresponding to important campaigns and battles.

  • What do the diaries reveal about public response to successes and failures on the battlefield?
  • What other sources could you check to learn more about public responses to events of the war?
  • If you were to create a timeline about the Second World War or Vietnam War, how much information would you include about public response to the war? Why?