The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-01-15

condition of the rolls, l have found
that many of them are made out with
great care and accuracy, but there are
great many that are but imperfectly
finished. Your Excellency will see
from our memorial that it is the opin
ion Of the United Confederate Veter-
ans that an experimental copy of these
rolls should be made and placed in the
hands Of the survivors for correction
and revision before they can be con-
sidered as ready or in proper shape
Tor final publication. This, at my
suggestion, was recommended by his
Exceliency Governor Tillman severa
years ago, and would have been done
but for the stringency of the money
market and the great expense devolv
ing upon the State in the building of
educational and other public works
demanded by the exigencies OF the
times. Now it can be done without
serious inconvenience, and | am salts
fed that as the sum necessary will
hardly be felt by the State the Legis.
lature will readily respond to any call
from your Excellency in this direc-
ton.
Until this is done, as is evident to
your Excellency, no final or complete
publication of the work can be made,
with the addition Of the valuable his
toric manuscript which has been and
is now being collected to 60 with the
publication OF the rolls when they are
completed.
Under the plan of this work as sub
plitted to your Excellency, to Govern
or Tiliman, and tothe various officers
commanding or representing brigades
from this State, it will be an interest
ing volume, showing:
First. The record made by our State
as State in the war, the sacrifices
made by our people in general, and the
heroic record made by our men and
women in the war, bringing out the
more prominent events and salient
points of our history as State and
people.
Second. As the history of our troops
runs so largely by brigades, each of
which has a separate, distinct and in
teresting historyo of its own, and which
at one time or another, comprised eV-
cry regiment in service with but one
or two exceptions, Ito which must be
added our separate batteries of artille-
ry), the record of the most of our troops
can be written by brigades-the Bri-
gade Historian doing full justice to
regiment and battalion, and thus saw
ing unnecessary multiplication of his
tory, the artillery and separate inde-
pendent commands being provided
for by separate sketches.
In this way we can do full justice
to all of our troops and people in a
work within the reach of our legisla-
tive appropriations, and which, not
being too cumbersome, will be eager
ly read and fondly treasured by our
people because it will 60 with therolls
containing the names and records of
each soldier.
This work is already being pushed
towards completion, first by the State
Historian and by selected representa-
tives from each brigade or separate
command. and will be ready for the
printer by the time the rolls are IA
shape for publication after the expert
mental copies are sent out for revision
and correction. Some of the sketches
are already complete.
In the meantime your Historian, un-
der the appointments conferred upon
him by the survivors, as well as that
by yourself, will be engaged in col
lecting the missing rolls and the vari-
Gus regimental and battalion sketches
called for by the resolution of the
U. G. V. and practicable or possible
at the time of publication might
be included, though it will be more
difficult to secure good sketches of
each regiment and battalion in tirae
for publication. At any rate this work
can be pushed forward, and will at
least make most valuable collection
of historical data which can be pre-
served and published in the future,
even if we cannot include it in the
publication of the rolls. which should
be finished as soon as possile, in order
to make them perfectly safe.
My own historical work under your
Excellency's appointment, though it
involved more extensive reading and
thorough research than had antici-
pated at first, is satisfactorily under
way, and will be submitted for rev1-
sion and publication in due time.
Parts of it showing the recapitulation
of the numbers of our troops engaged
in the war, the deaths, losses, ETC., can
not be filed out until our rolls are all
in with all the data they contain to cor
respond with my general statement.
Besides my own manuscript, | have
on handa valuable collection of manu-
script by Professor Rivers, which,
though not complete and ready for
publication, are Invaluable to those
engaged in writing sketches of the
early organization of our troops and
their subsequent history. These have
been placed in proper hands for refer
ence, and will be preserved for future
use, the State owing Professor Rivers
a debt of gratitude (or preserving
these records, and also General Mani
gault, VINO lnauSurateo LIE Worh VI
preserving the rolls
have also on hand at the Office of
the adjutant and inspect or general
valuable Roll of Honor" or alpha
betical list of the dead, which, though
not complete, contains some ten thou
sand names, as estimated and prepared
by the Survivors Association. This,
too, should be published so as to enable
our people to add names not included
and to make the list complete.
It has been suggested by General G.
I. Walker, and l would respectfully
join in the request, that some better
means for the preservation of the Con-
federate Records of all kinds be made,
which, with the cooperation of your
Excellency, think can be arranged
with the adjutant and inspector gen
eral, or if the room there is not suffi
y. 4.