The National tribune., 1901-05-23
RECORDS OF THE REBELLION.
The Great work Completed at Cost of Owe,
$4,000, 900.

luS SIctb WOAh toupl6teu db a tOsL VI OFoI
$4,000, 900.
The last volume of text of the "Oficial
Records of the Union and Confederate
Armies" has just been issued, and the
work is completed except for the general
indexes and supplemental volume Of sta
tistics, which viii be finished within the
coming fiscal year. 1t has cost the Gov
ernment upward of S3.000,O00 to collect,
compile aud publish these reports, which
in their printed form include, as the pre-
face states, everything having any "appar-
ent historical value" such value being de-
termlned by the compiers. The entire
issue, excluding the general index and
statistical volumes now in press, is COM
priSed In 127 books of an average of / 900
pages each, or an aggregate of 127,00
pages of printed matter.
In the preface to the first edition of his
personal memoirs, dated st. Louis. Jan.
Il. 1879, Gen. Sherman referred some
what sarcastically to the delay in issuing
the book At that time not a volume in
ITS present form had appeared. He said:
AT the rate OF progress for the last 10
years it is probable that a new century
will come before they are published"
This sneer was doubtless thrown ont
for the purpose of expediting the work.
Little did the old hero imagine at the
time that % years would be consumed
in its publication, and no more diu he
comprehend the scope of the work. At
that time it was estimated that 40 vol
umes would fulfill all tie requirements.
len years later in preface to the sec
ond edition OF his revised memoirs Sher-
man, in similar strain, again reverted
TO the war records. Il am afraid" he
said, IF L assume again the character of
prophet L must extend the time deep
INTO the next century, and pray mean
While that the official records of the war
may approach completion before the next
war, or rather that we, as q people, may
be spared another war until the last one
is officially recorded"
His prayer was not fulfilled; there was
another war ere the Records of the Re-
bellion were finished in book form, but
their completion will not extend any
deeper into the next century" than a few
months hence. There has, perhaps, been
cause for complaint, although it was a
critical undertaking, which required care
and time.
The work was started tentatively 80
years ago, but it did not take actual form
until 1874. Volume l was issued in 1880.
The compilation was at first in charge of
civilians connected with the War Depart
ment, but afterward was more fully or
ganiZed by an Army officer, Lieut.-Col. X.
n. Scott. After Scott's death a Board of
Publication was provided for by Con-
was President, and two civilians.
In December, 1898, the greater part of
the books being completed, this board was
dissolved by the Secretary of War, and
the unfinished volumes handed over to an
Army officer again.
From 1891 to 1898 more than 100 per-
sons were employees in the War Records
Office. 1t has been a gigantic undertake
ing, but after all has repaid its cost.
The first series, with a set Of maps, Of
which there are thousands, deals princi-
pally with the battles and campaigns and
includes official reports, orders, returns,
letters and telegra phic dispatches on every
conceivable subject relating thereto. The
second series enbodies the same sort of
documents relating to prisoners OF war and
state. The third series embOdies the Of
fetal calls for troops, and the documents
covering the history Of the drafts, organ
ization of armies and related subjects on
the Union side. The fourth series en-
bodies similar matters on the Confederate
side. There is a copious index with each
book, besides which there is to be this
general index to the whole
Congress provided for the issue Of an
edition of 11,000 copies Of each separate
volume, the greater number of which were
distributed through designations made by
Senators and Representatives. The bene-
ficiaries have been receiving the books
IOf ~ years aL an dNeEdBe rate Oh ABOUT
six volumes per annum. As more than
], ,350,000 books in the aggregate have
heen printed and thus distributed, a large
force has been constantly required for the
mailing service alone ever since 1880,
work which has been done in the War
Department. A certain portion were re-
served for sale at cost, and each Execu-
tive Department of the Government also
received a complement.
All the sets for free distribution were
long ago exhausted, but the public pres
sure for the work still continues. Con-
gress has already been importuned to re-
print the entire set, but it will hardly do
so, as nearly every public library in the
country of any consequence has been sup
piled with a set.
The War Records are collection OF all
the accessible official documents, whether
reports, returns, letters. kilograms, or
what not, relating to the rebellion. ar
ranged in chronological order In the se-
quence of events.
The Reports are printed exactly as
written, the compilers merely correcting
bad spelling and subjecting them to a
general rule of punctuation and address.
They were not otherwise edited. Occa-
sionally foot-note is ventured to explain
some obscurity, or reference which other
wise would not be understood.