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1863
June.
29.
pitied him sincerely. Further on we encountered a body of cavalry & army wagons moving in the direction of Rockville about 12 miles ^from Georgetown where the southerners are said to be with a force of 10 000 men. They were fully equiped for war.  There are signal lights again from the Capitol what they portend we know not.
Gen Mead has been given the command of the army Gen Hooker not proving himself equal to our present emergency & Gen Butler has been appointed Sec. of War. Two important moves in the game we are playing whether for or against us time must tell.

Trains of cars have been running all day from Alexandria heavily laden with Government stores. Everything valuable is being brought away from there I suppose for fear of an attack.

Father & Mother have just come in from the city. Father saw a young man at the book store who had been sent ^this morning with stationary to the army now at Frederick but was taken prisoner at Rockville  He said the rebels were in force there.  [[strikeout]] that [[strikeout]] they were well dressed and mounted. They released him on parole. The people in Rockville were all secessionist & were entertaining the soldiers with generous hospitality.  Should our Northern men take their place perhaps they would be found to be equally loyal.
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1863.
June 
30th
Tues. Various rumours are afloat to day but it is difficult to know what to believe. The Rebels at Rockville seem to be a body of cavalry under Gen [[Stuart/Stewart?]] on their way to join the main body of the army which is supposed to concentrating some where near Gettysburg. Paid a visit to Prof Matill in his room this evening & watched him make a casting of a South American idol. Father read Chalk on the war after tea.  He likes his views very much.

July 1st. Wed. Mr & Mrs. Peale & Mr. Welling spent the evening with us. In speaking of the improvements which may be made in the city Father said when he first came here he had taken great interest in the matter & had made great efforts for the carrying out of certain plans for beautifying the city but met with so little encouragement from the mean self interested motives & petty party spirit of men in office that he became disgusted. It was through his influence however that the range of parks from the Capitol to the river were left open & so many of the triangular spaces along Penn. Av. fenced in & planted with shrubbery.

Mr Peale in speaking of the war thought we had the rebels now completely in our power. If Government were to intrust him with our [[army/s?]] he thought he could surround & completely destroy them without the slightest hope of escape. Father without meaning to be personal to Mr. Peale told an amusing [[?]] anecdote of [[blank space]] speaking of
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