Excerpts from the Journal of Horace Purdy, Danbury, January 25 - February 9, 1861

Friday January 25th 1861 Danbury

“He (Geo.) staid [sic] until evening and went with me to drill. Our Capt. Having had orders from the Gov[ernor] to drill his men and look to our arms and equipments and hold ourselves in readiness to march at short notice to fight for our country. The co[mpany] was better represented than it has been for a long time before. Three new recruits were proposed for membership. Two of them were accepted – Fred Starr and Geo. Brockett. When I returned from drill I drew up the minutes of the meeting and retired.”

Tuesday February 5th 1861 Danbury

“Joshua R. Giddings lectured here this eve before the Young Mans’ Christian Association. The subject – John Q. [Quincy] Adams – the rowdies and roughs of the Democratic Party threaten to give him a smell of rotten eggs. I attended drill and on my way home I stopped a few moments outside the hall to see what was going on, but the crowd was made up of such a clup [?], and so obsene [sic] and disgraceful was the conversation that I thought to do justice for myself I had better leave and did so forthwith.”

Saturday February 9th 1861 Danbury

“I went into the street in the eve to buy something for breakfast and got into a political discussion with Edgar Wildman which detained me longer than I intended.”
[Edgar L. Wildman was a private in the First Connecticut Regiment.]