The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 2, Volume 8. Page: iii
viii, 1060 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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PREFACE.
The work of preparing the records of the war for public use was-
begun, under the resolution of Congress of May 19, 1864, by Col. E. D.
Townsend, assistant adjutant-general, U. S. Army (then in charge of
the Adjutant-General's Office, and subsequently the Adjutant-General),
who caused copies to be made of reports of battles on file in his office
and steps to be taken to collect missing records.
Under the provisions of joint resolution of July 27, 1866, Hon. Peter
H. Watson was appointed to supervise the preparation of the records
and to formulate a plan for their publication, but he performed no
service under this appointment, which expired July 27, 1868, by limi-
tation. This resolution having also repealed the former one, the project
was suspended for the time being.
The first decisive step taken was the act of June 23, 1874, providing
the necessary means "to enable the Secretary of War to begin the
publication of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, both
of the Union and Confederate Armies," and directing him "to have
copied for the Public Printer all reports, letters, telegrams, and gen-
eral orders, not heretofore copied or printed, and properly arranged in
chronological order." Appropriations have been made from time to
time for continuing such preparation. Under this act the preliminary
work was resumed by General Townsend.
Subsequently, under meager appropriations, it was prosecuted in a
somewhat desultory manner by various subordinates of the War De-
partment until December 14, 1877, when the Secretary of War, per-
ceiving that the undertaking needed the undivided attention of a single
head, detailed Capt. Robert N. Scott, Third U. S. Artillery (subse-
quently major and lieutenant-colonel same regiment), to take charge
of the office.
The act of June 23, 1874, enlarged upon the first scheme of publica-
tion. On this more comprehensive basis it was determined that the
volumes should include not only the battle reports, correspondence,
etc., in possession of the War Department, but also "all official docu-
ments that can be obtained by the compiler, and that appear to be of
any historical value." Colonel Scott systematized the work, and, upon
his recommendation, the Secretary of War approved the following
order of publication:
The first series will embrace the formal reports, both Union and Confederate, of
the first seizures of United States property in the Southern States, and of all military
operations in the field, with the correspondence, orders, and returns relating specially
thereto, and, as proposed, is to be accompanied by an Atlas.
III
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The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Additions and Corrections to Series 2, Volume 8. (Pamphlet)
Errata sheets for the Records of the War of the Rebellion include additions and corrections to the text and the index for Series 2, Volume 8.
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United States. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 2, Volume 8., book, 1899; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139689/m1/4/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.