Produced by Ed Ferris
NEW YORKCHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS743 AND 745 BROADWAY1882
COPYRIGHT BYCHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS1882
TROW'SPRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY210-213 East 12th Street
In writing ths narrative, which relates to the decisive campaignwhich freed the Northern States from invasion, it may not be outof place to state what facilities I have had for observation inthe fulfilment of so important a task. I can only say that I was,to a considerable extent, an actor in the scenes I describe, andknew the principal leaders on both sides, in consequence of myassociation with them at West Point, and, subsequently, in theregular army. Indeed, several of them, including Stonewall Jacksonand A. P. Hill, were, prior to the war, officers in the regimentto which I belonged. As commander of the Defences of Washingtonin the spring of 1862, I was, owing to the nature of my duties,brought into intimate relations with the statesmen who controlledthe Government at the time, and became well acquainted with PresidentLincoln. I was present, too, after the Battle of Gettysburg, ata very interesting Cabinet Council, in which the pursuit of Leewas fully discussed; so that, in one way and another, I have hadbetter opportunities to judge of men and measures than usually fallto the lot of others who have written on the same subject.
I have always felt it to be the duty of every one who held aprominent position in the great war to give to posterity the benefitof his personal recollections; for no dry official statement canever convey an adequate idea to those who come after us of thesufferings and sacrifices through which the country has passed.Thousands of men—the flower of our Northern youth—have gone downto their graves unheralded and unknown, and their achievements anddevotion to the cause have already been forgotten. It is, therefore,incumbent upon us, who were their comrades in the field, to do allin our power to preserve their deeds from oblivion.
And yet it is no easy task to relate contemporaneous events.Whoever attempts it must be prepared for severe criticism and theexhibition of much personal feeling. Some of this may be avoided,it is true, by writing a colorless history, praising everybody,and attributing all disasters to dispensations of Providence, forwhich no one is to blame. I cannot, however, consent to fulfillmy allotted task in this way, for the great lessons of the war aretoo valuable to be ignored or misstated. It is not my desire toassail any of the patriotic men who were engaged in the contest,but each of us is responsible for our actions in this world, andfor the consequences which flow from them; and where great disastershave occurred, it is due both to the living and the dead that thecauses and circumstances be justly and properly stated.
Richelieu once exclaimed, upon giving away a high appointment:"Now I have made one ingrate and a thousand enemies." Every onewho writes the history of the Great Rebellion will often haveoccasion to reiterate the statement: For the military critic mustnecessarily describe facts which imply praise or censure. Thosewho have contributed to great successes think much more might havebeen said on the subject, and those