He has taken command of the highlands that command the town and
the encampment. All sorts of rumors are spread among the troops
concerning an attack upon the Annapolis Station; but the place can be
defended under any conceivable circumstances. I am sorry to say, that
everything is in confusion at Annapolis Junction, and a moderate force
might, in a single night, break off the connection of this city with
the North. Each colonel, as he moves towards Washington, commands for
twelve or twenty-four hours. My own belief, however, is, that Maryland
will never see two thousand men together as a military organization
in opposition to the Government.
I presume that your Excellency has means of obtaining information
concerning the condition of Massachusetts men, morally and physically;
but, as I am here, I shall try to obtain and transmit any information
that seems important. I may say now, that the Eighth Regiment is
quartered in the rotunda of the Capitol; and a military man, not of
Massachusetts, says, that they are already suffering from the cold
and dampness of the place. He advises tents and out-door encampment.
I repeat what is every hour and in my hearing, that Massachusetts
has taken her place at the head of the column in support of the
Government; and our regiments are everywhere esteemed as noble examples
of citizen soldiers.
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