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finished rooms once thronged with the gay & fashionable now filled with soldiers & rough men we could not but give a sigh for our former hostess & her vanished splendor. The day was rather too cool for enjoyment on the water but as we approached Alexandria boat after boat passed us laden with soldiers. & the air rang with their enthusiastic shouts as we greeted them. They seemed to be in excellent spirits. Alexandria seemed like a great military camp. Soldiers in the street, soldiers in the houses blue coats everywhere & heavy army wagons rumbling along unceasingly. One officer told us 20,000 men had arrived on Saturday. no provision had been made for their accommodation but several churches were thrown open for them to lodge in. We concluded to visit Fort Elsworth & on our way there passed the old church Washington regularly attended. Those grey old walls saw the beginning of our republic were they to witness its downfall. Fort Elsworth is beautifully situated commanding a most beautiful view of the surrounding country. We saw it in the Spring before its completion. The [[works?]] are very finely finished & the accommodation for the officers & men excellent although the [[condition/situation?]] of some of the tents was far from [[inviting?]] in appearance as little attention seemed to have been paid to neatness. Several of the guns are [[rifled?]] They were quiet & harmless enough looking
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[[then?]] but it made one shudder to think of the death & destruction [[those iron monsters are?]] capable. Two pretty little brass guns interested us particularly they had seen service in four or five of the Mexican battles. They seemed to be pets as they were polished with great care. The Fort is upon a hill & as we descended toward Alexandria our eyes were charmed by the appearance of a cavalry camp below us Nothing could have been more picturesque. The tents, the drill, the piles of [[redlious?]] blankets here & there, [[strikethrough]] & [[\strikethrough]] the sunlight dawning brightly over all the slopes of the [[hill?]] with its groups of soldiers formed a beautiful tableau. Not the least interesting part of the scene was the [[?]] of a large tree not far from us. We watched its stately head sway from side to side The [[yul?]] [[strikethough]] with dignity [[\strikethrough]] to its fate with [[strikethrough]] [[the?]] [[\strikethrough]] dignity. ^Like [[strikethrough]] as of [[\strikethrough]] a great human soul in misfortune it fell but noble in its falling, Lord of the forest still though low in the dust.

Sat. April 19th  Since I last wrote success has every where [[crowned]] the [[mens?]] [[arms?]] In Tennessee [[Island?]] no. 10 commanding the Mississippi or [[strikethrough]] [[rather?]] [[\strikethrough]] at least one of the most important forts on that [[river?]] held by the Southerners has yielded after a prolonged seige [[strikethrough]] [[ended?]] [[\strikethrough]]the combined forces of
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