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146 Sidelights and Personal Notes Chapter 8 Sidelights and Personal Notes As a sober-sided Connecticut Yankee, Welles filled his diary mainly with entries about the serious business of war, government, and politics. But scattered here and there are entries of a different sort. Some of them record interesting sidelights on the wartime years, including glimpses of social life in official Washington and intriguing anecdotes. Others reveal the personal side of the man: less stern and judgmental than when acting in his official capacity, prone to sentimentality , aware of life’s tragic dimension, and given to ruminations on mortality as he recorded the deaths of his youngest son and several old friends. This chapter consists of a collection of such entries presented in chronological order. September 18, 1862: General [Joseph K. F.] Mansfield is reported slain [at Antietam]. He was from my State and almost a neighbor. He called on me last week, on his way from Norfolk to join the army above. When parting he once shook hands, there then was a farther brief conversation and he came back from the door after he left and again shook hands. “Farewell ,” said I, “success attend you.” He remarked, with emphasis, and some feeling, “We may never meet again.” December 3, 1862: It is a month since I have opened this book and been able to make any record of current events. A pressure of public business, the preparation of my Annual Report, and domestic sorrows have consumed all my waking moments. A light, bright, cherub face, which threw its sunshine on me when this book was last opened, has disappeared forever. My dear Hubert, who was a treasure garnered in my heart, is laid beside his five brothers and sisters in Spring Grove [Cemetery in Hartford]. Well has it been for me that overwhelming public duties have borne down upon me in these sad days. Alas, frail life – amid the nation’s grief I have my own. Sidelights and Personal Notes 147 May 19, 1863: [Former Rhode Island] Governor [William] Sprague and Miss Kate Chase [Secretary Chase’s daughter] called this evening. I have been skeptical as to a match, but this means something. She is beautiful, or, more properly perhaps, interesting and impressive. He is rich and holds the position of Senator. Few young men have such advantages as he, and Miss Kate has talents and ambition sufficient for both.1 June 8, 1863: Spoke to the President regarding weekly performances of the Marine Band. It has been customary for them to play in the public grounds south of the Mansion once a week in summer, for many years. Last year it was intermitted, because Mrs. Lincoln objected in consequence of the death of her son [Willie, on February 20, 1862]. There was discontent, and there will be more this year if the public are denied the privilege. The public will not sympathize in sorrows which deprive them of enjoyments to which they have been accustomed, and it is a mistake to persist in it. When I introduced the subject to-day, the President said Mrs. L. would not consent, certainly not until after the 4th of July. I stated the case pretty frankly, although the subject is delicate, and suggested that the band could play in Lafayette Square. Seward and Usher, who were present, advised that course. The President told me to do what I thought best. June 13, 1863 [a Saturday]: We had music from the Marine Band to-day in Lafayette Square. The people are greatly pleased. June 27, 1863: A telegram last night informed me of the death of Admiral Foote. The information of the last few days made it a not unexpected event, yet there was a shock when it came. Foote and myself were schoolboys together at Cheshire Academy under good old Dr. Bronson, and, though three or four years younger than myself, we were pursuing some of the same studies, and there sprang up an attachment between us that never was broken. His profession interrupted our intimacy, but at long intervals we occasionally met, and the recollection of youthful friendship made these meetings pleasant. When I was called to take the administration of the Navy Department, he was Executive Officer at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and wrote me of the pleasure my appointment gave him. He soon visited Washington, when I consulted with him and procured in friendly confidence his estimate of 1 By all accounts quite a beauty, Kate Chase was...

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