The Russellville Democrat., 1879-11-06
WAR RECORDS.
Manner in Which Missing Records are Being Rec0yered-The Union and Confederate Records to be
 Published Sepa-
 fel
Washington star

large building on q street, corner of Twentieth, where the official records of the great war are being complied Gen Marcus T. Wright, who is engaged in collecting the records of the Confeder- ate side, was found in his office, and he gave the reporter an account of the work and its progress. Said he: "Very many of the most valuable of the official pa pers of the Confederate army were lost or destroyed in the general breakup and surrender. Our purpose is to get copies of all such papers, and thus make com plete the official record of that side. Such of the papers as were preserved were obtained by the Government, and l was appointed to procure duplicates of those that were lost.
 iStar-But how do you get these dupli- cates?
 Gen. Wright-From the officers of the Confederate army. They preserved copies of every report, every official pa per they sent to Richmond, and many of them kept copies of every official letter they wrote.
 .Sar-Do the ex-Confederate officers give their files up to you?
 Gen. Won, yes. As a general rule they give them to us, but where any of them have papers they wish to keep they would allow us to make copies of them and we return the originals. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston turned over to us his entire records, containing all his re- ports, official letters, and reports of his subordinate officers. l have also all of Gen. Pemberton's papers, and that gives us complete official record of the Nicks- burg campaign as conducted on the Con- fcderate side.
 lStar-Did they turn over their papers entirely to the Government?
 Gen. W.-Ycs. We preserve the pa pers, and they are accessible at all times to those gentlemen, if they should wish to see them or make copies. They give them to us very willingly, as it relieves them of the trouble and care of keeping them, and does not deprive them of any use they would want to make of the pa- pers. We take'every precaution against loss by fire or otherwise of the papers we get. We have printed copies of each one made, and eighteen or twenty of these copies are distributed around among as many of the departments and other Government buildings. so that in case of fire we are certain not to have them all destroyed.
 Star-General, these records are to be published by the Government, are they not?
 Gen. W.-Yes, sir that is what we are collecting them for. Thepurpose of the Government is to make up a complete official history of both armies of the civil war. The record for the year 1861, of both sides, will be ready for publica- ton about the time Congress meets. The volumes will be printed by the Govern ment as any other, public documents, and the usual number distributed among the departments and members of Con- gross. Then the law provides that the work shall be stereotyped and sold to the public at the cost price of printing, so that any one can obtain the work at a comparatively little cost.
 jSar-Will the records of the two armies be printed separately?
 Gen. W.-Yes; separately and in con- secutive volumnes.
 Star-Will the records be edited?
 Gen. W.-No; not at all; smply com piled so as to present, in the order in which they were issued, the official re- ports, letters, orders, etc, of the war The compilation is in charge of Col R. N. Scott, of the Third Artillery, U. s. A., and man better qualified for the work could not have been selected.
 iStdr-IIow long will it take to finish up the entire work?
 Gen. Wit will require several years more to complete the work for all the years of the war
 iStar-Havn't you recently returned from a collecting tour in the South? Gen. W.-Yes, sir; l got back a few days ago, and l obtained a number ol very valuable papers. l went to see Gen. Joseph Wheeler in Alabama, who commanded the cavalry of Bragg's army. | He gave me his entire file of papers and reports, covering the time from his en' | try until the close of the war. l next visited the Indian Territory, and got T set of papers covering the military oper' ations of the Confederates in what was | called the District of the Indian Terri ] tory. The district was commanded by Gems. Albert Pike, Maxey, (now United 1 States Senator from TeXas), and D. II ! Cooper. These records are quite i'm portant. l also got all the official papers l of Lieut.. Gen. k. s. Ewell (since dead) who held an important command in tho Confederate army. l next visited Gen F. Kirby Smith; who commanded tho trans-M Mississippi department, and got hi' records. During the war bis depart ment was, for long time, pretty effect ively cut off from Richmond, and thC records there were incomplete as to hi military operations. l found his file' very complete, though. Col. Richmond of McAlinnville, Tenn, promised t send me the official files of Gen. Leoni das Polk Bishop Polk, who was killed during the war. These papers will GOV CT some very important military move ments. have many of the papers O Gen. Beauregard, and he has promised me the remainder as soon as his book now in press in New York, shall have been printed. He held, as you know very high commands, and his files vii cover some of the most important op erations of the war. This winter l shal make a trip to New Orleans, Memphis and Mobile, where l will get papers o interest from eX-ConIederate officials re siding at those points. The printing O these is equivalent to the publication O an official history of the war. The re ports of officers on both sides, and othe official documents will thus be preserye' and they will speak truthfully and i'm partially of the great events Of the Wal had undertaken, on my own account the collection of Confederated records with the view of publishing them whel Congress passed the act authorizing then to be complied. l had procured man
 valuable papers, and l immediatel