Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-27

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Ny&E Armies" It Is not
W sI<1TI only the largest his
SIIHd tory ever published
IN the world. but it has for its subject as
Its name indicates. the greatest conflict Of
ancient or modern times. The preparation
Of this brobdignag work, 1t Is announced.
will be practically finished by the close Of
the next fiscal year. 1t was begun just
twenty years ago. and in the process of
evolution has assumed undreamed-of pro-
portions; but the fact that 1t is now prog
ressing rapidly toward completion will be
sure to excite renewed public interest in it.
The whole work when completed will en-
brace 40 huge royal octave volumes of
1000 pages each, and a gigantic atlas, and
the ultimate cost will be something like
s25OOOOO. Each separate book in set Is
three inches thick and weighs from so to go
ounces, and the combined weight Of an en-
tire set will be $50 pounds, while the vol
umes, II set up in row on a single shelf
of ones library, would extend a distance of
30 feet. Eleven thousand copies Will be
printed. so that the edition will comprise
1.32O.OOO books of 900 printed pages. aggre-
eating l 300. O0e, 900 pages of matter, ex-
elusive of the atlas.
Up to this date. 50 serial volumes have
been published and about s1,SOOOOO has
been spent in all branches of the work, or
about $4,000 per volume. This average may
be somewhat reduced in the later volumes,
but In the main 1t is expected to obtain
throughout The printing and binding alone
cost $4,000 per volume while the previous
preparation of each volume for the printers
hands costs an equal sum OF $1,000.
Plan of the Work.
The completed work will embrace four
series. The first series begins, as to sub
feet matter. with the formal official reports.
both Union and confederate. of the first
seizures Of United States property In the
southern states, and then deals in regular
chronological order with all the military
operations in the feld-scouts, skirmishes.
raids, marches. battles, expeditions ana
efexes together with the correspondence,
orders and returns relating thereto. The
atlas accompanying 1t Will contain 100
plates of maps and plans, illustrating the
second series will contain the official cor
fespondence and reports on both sides re
lating TO prisoners of war and TO state or
political prisoners. The tnira series VIII vii
subjects treated in the first and second.
such as the annual and special reports OF
he Secretary of War, OF the general-n.
chief and of the chiefs Of the several stan
CORPS and departments, besides the calls
TOR troops and correspondence between the
national and state authorities; while the
fourth series will exhibit the correspond
confederate authorities in the same line as
those of the Union officials set forth In the
third series The first series. however; Is
3ory and will consist of 104 volumes or
parts. The other three series together VIII
make I'D only 16 additional volumes. Ac,
oording to the numbering originally mapped
Int for the volumes Of the first series, 1t
Would appear that only 80 volumes were
desisned to be embraced In It; but some or
these 80 have been expanded into as many
- four and five parts each. of equal size
NTH the others, and hence as a matter or
fact the number Of serial volumes IN the
Arst series has been increased 70 de4-
Mons at Charleston and the secession OF the
various southern states. The second taxes
"a Bull Run and other early actions OF less
Importance. The third eighth, nineteenth
hirty-second and thirty-third numbers con-
Germ the war in Missouri and adjacent
rates The sixth, twentieth, forty-frst,
{orty-second, forty-seventh, sixty-hrth ana
aixty-sixth discuss the operations on the
South Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The battle
Of Shiloh and other Tennessee, Kentucky and
Mississippi campaigns are detailed IN serial
volumes ten and eleven; the Peninsular
campaign Is given IN numbers twelve. thir-
teen and fourteen, and the Vicksburg oper-
ations are described in numbers twenty-one,
thirty-six, thirty-seven and thirty-eight.
The invasion of Maryland and Pennsylva-
mia, eliminating at Antietam in 1862, Is set
out in serial numbers twenty-seven and
twenty-eight. Morgan's raid and number
less other raids are described in parts thir-
ty-four and thirty-five. Gettysburg and the
New York draft riots are narrated In num-
be-s forty-three. forty-four and forty-dve.
Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge are re-
lated in numbers fifty to ffty-six, inclu-
sive and the Wilderness and Spottsylvania
IN numbers sixty-seven, sixty-eight and
sixty-nine. Five parts, numbers seventy
two to seventy-six. inclusive. are devoted
to the Atlanta campaign under the head Of
vol. XXXVIII. and three more, numbers
ninety-eight ninety-nine and 100. to the
campaign of the Carolinas. The operations
around Richmond and Petersburg from
1854 to the close at Appomattox are given
In the volumes formally numbered forty.
torty-twC and forty-siN, covering nine parts
or serial numbers. The final volume OF the
series preceding the general index, num-
bered fifty, serial number 103, will be de-
voted exclusively to operations on the Pa
effic coast.
An Impartial Record.
The method of treatment pursued
throughout is altogether impartial, nom
partisan and colorless. The official docu-
ments. printed and arranged in the natural
order of the events they treat of are allowed
to tell their own plain. unvarnished tale"
and no comments. remarks, opinions or
Bpeculations whatever are permitted to in
tervene between the successive links Of the
narrative. Nothing is printed in the vol
tunes except duly authenticated contempt
raneous records of the war. and newspaper
accounts and private reports are rigidly ex-
cluded.
All records pertaining to the precise
period to be covered by each volume are
gone over with the utmost care, and only
such matter is selected as should be print
ed. This matter is then copied and after
ward compared with the originals, and sig
nificant memoranda are attached to the CO.
pies showing the particular files whence the
originals were taken. and the names of the
persons who copied them. Then the matter
thus copied Is compiled and arranged chron-
closicaly according 10 days and even hours
when there is point to be observed. where
upon the whole is prOperly headed through
out, supplied with title page and sent to
the public printer. When the proofs come
back. every page, report and message is dill
tgently verified, resort being had frequently
to the original documents in case of doubt
or perplexity. Finally each volume is in
dexed, bound and made ready for distribu-
ton.
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