Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, Post 13

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch.

May 11^th 1862

Meantime public news has come in rapid succession. New Orleans surrendered, Fort Mason soon followed, - Yorktown has been abandoned, and the rebels have been defeated at Williamsburg and West Point. God grant a speedy termination of the contest! In Washington, the Act for abolishing slavery in the D.C. having been passed, Congress have turned their attention to the great subject of a confiscation bill. This I am disposed to favor, as a means partly of emancipating many slaves, & thus preparing the way for the freedom of the rest, - partly of punishing treason in a less cruel but more effectual method than by executions. I was much impressed by a speech of Senator Wade of Ohio on this subject.

Be sure to check back in June, when Bulfinch notes Confederate movements in Virginia and the loss of a personal acquaintance and former parishioner.