A website from the Massachusetts Historical Society; founded 1791.

Diary of Charles Francis Adams, 1861

Saturday 5th

5 January 1861

Monday 7th

7 January 1861
6 January 1861
45
Sunday 6th
Washington
CFA AM

Fine, mild day. Attended Divine service, and heard Mr Haley preach a sermon upon the scripture text, study to be quiet. He made some allusions to present events evidently with more feeling than he has commonly indulged. This may be attributed to the fact that he has resigned his post. Home where I labored with assiduity in answering letters. I do not know but that the best thing I could do would be not to answer them at present. For the current is now running so fiercely for war and coercion as to render the labor of less value than it would be at any other time. Presently the ebb will come, and something of the kind may be listened to. Sumner dined with us and talked gloomy as he always does. He may be right, but I am a little inclined to think that his old vindictiveness peeps not from the midst of it. The severe experience he has had here has tinged his whole character. And he looks forward to the violence and slaughter of civil war, with the consequences of insurrection in the South abuest with a grim satisfaction. Such is not my character.46

Cite web page as:

Charles Francis Adams, Sr., [date of entry], diary, in Charles Francis Adams, Sr.: The Civil War Diaries (Unverified Transcriptions). Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 2015. http://www.masshist.org/publications/cfa-civil-war/view?id=DCA61d006