January 1, 1863: San Francisco

Lincoln statue at City Hall; by Tom Hilton, on Flickr

Well, the holidays have passed. [Yesterday] was a lovely day, but [today] was rainy enough. I made some calls, but the rain interfered seriously. We had little parties at our boarding house, both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s night—informal, pleasant little affairs.

The Emancipation Proclamation was hailed with gladness by a large majority of our loyal population. It is looked upon not only as a military necessity, but also as a grand step in civilization, as the great movement to unite the nation again by laying the foundation for the early removal of the grand bone of contention.