The National tribune., 1883-05-03
How to Obtain a Good War Library.

How to Obtain a Good War Library.
How to obtain good war library at a
trifing cost is a question which, we dare
say, has often perplexed our old comrades
in arms. There are a plenty of histories of
the rebellion, but comparatively few are
trustworthy from a military standpoint and
nearly all command a higher price than many
OF our veterans can afford to pay. As a rule
too, they furnish only the general outlines of
campaigns, and are lacking in those details
of brigade and regimental movements which
to the common soldier are of the most vital
interest. Until Seribner's Sons, of New York,
undertook the publication of their series of
Campaigns of the Civil War;" there was in
deed no history of the war adapted at once
to the taste and means of the average sell
dier, and it has only at this late day become
practicable for our comrades to obtain a
satisfactory war library without greater
expenditure of money than they could afford.
The purchase of complete series of CAM
paign histories is doubtless still beyond the
means of many Of our veterans, but it is at
least within the power of every ex-soldier to
secure reliable narrative of the battles in
which he himself participated. That this is
possible is owing, as we have said. to the
fact that Scribner's Sons, instead of publish
ing a bulky history of the war in one vol
ume, have issued q series of books, in which
the subject is treated by campaigns. If
our readers will turn to our premium list
they viii observe that the campaigns of both
our Eastern and Western Armies are taken
up and described with regard not only to their
chronological sequence, buttheir military re-
lation to each other. Thus, beginning with the
introductory volume on 9The Outbreak of Re-
bellion," we have, as descriptive Of the opera
lions of the Army of the Potomac, "The PEN
insula," (which tells the story of MeClellan's
first campaign to the end of the Seven Days
Fight; The Army Under Pope" towering
the period between the appointment of Pope
to the command of the Army of Virginia
and the appointment of Mcclellan to
the general command in September, 1862 /;
Antietam and fredericksburg Showing
the development OF the campaign which be-
gan and ended with these battles); "Chan-
cellorsville and Gettysburg" embracing the
movements of the army from the assump-
ton of command by Hooker to the retreat
of Lee from Pennsylvania Grant in Vir-
ginia," bringing the history down to Lees
surrender) with a special volume describing
Sheridan's campaign of 1854 in the shenan-
doah Valley. The war in the West is SINH
larly treated. The opening volume, From
Fort Henry to Cerinth," describes the opera
tons which ended with the battle of Shiloh !;
in The Army of the Cumberland we have
history of the campaign which eliminated
at Chattanooga; ATLANTA" is devoted to
Sherman's advance into Georgia, and in
".The March to the Sea- is detailed the
final execution of his plan of campaign and
the coordinate operations of Thomas in
Tennessee, while the story of how the Mis-
sissippi was opened is told in distinct and
separate volume. The series, it viii be seen,
forms as complete war library as any one
could wish, while it affords an opportunity
to those who cannot afford to purchase the
entire set to obtain history of the COM
mands and campaigns in which they are
specially interested.
The ordinary price Of these books is one
dollar each, aud hitherto we have offered
them solely as premiums for clubs of new
subscribers, but IN order that it may be
within the means of cur readers, one and all,
to secure a copy, we have decided to make
the following special offers:
We viii forward any volume of the series,
postage prepaid
list. To any subscriber who viii send us
enc new subscriber and sixty cents in addi-
ton to the price of subscription.
3D. TO any subscriber who viii renew his
subscription for one year in advance and
sends us sixty cents additional.
Those who take advantage of either of
these offers will thus obtain the books at
sixty cents apiece-a reduction from the
usual price of nearly fifty per cent.
Nor is this all. Aside from the histories
already mentioned, we have made arrange
ments to offer two other valuable books on
equally tempting conditions =" swintons
Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac"
and Van Hornes Life of General Thomas"
The first Of these works is universally recog-
nized as the most brilliant, comprehensive