The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-03-27

Gen. Ainsworth, of War De-
partment, Outlines Plan.
original Documents Must be Sent 10 Washing
ton---State Auditor Dixon U'ges
Prompt Action,

State Auditor Dixon yesterday received
the following letter from Gen. F~ c.
Ainsworth, chief of the Record and PEN
sion Office, War Department, Washing
ton.
In acknowledging the receipt of your
letter of the 10Th inst. beg to express
the qualification of the department at
your cordial assurance of cooperation
with 1t Iii the effort to make the recently
authorized roster of the officers and men
OF the Union and Confederate armies as
nearly complete as it is possible to make
it, so far as North Carolina troops are
concerned
"A considerable collection of the rolls
Of North Carolina Confederate orgapiza-
tons is now in the possession of this
department. While the collection does not
by any means show all the names of the
officers and men who were in the Con-
federate service from North Carolina. and
while it does not show The complete mill
itary histories of those whose names it
does show, it is hoped that the list of
names and the histories of Individual
officers and men can be made more nearly
from other original rolls that may now
be in the possession of the State of North
Carolina, or of historical societies, me-
mortal associations and individuals Of
North Carolina and other States
"The legislation authorizing the COM
pilation of the roster is construed by
the department to restrict it, in making
the compilation, to the use of original
records made during the war period, and
to preclude the use of the printed o.
manuscript copies or compilations made
subsequently. For this reason and in or
der that there shall be ne ground for
doubt as to the accuracy of the proposed
roster, the department will be unable to
use in the compilation any of the rosters
that have heretofore been published, but
must in all cases seek the original rec
ords upon which those rosters are based.
'You will readily sec that, in order
that the compilation now in progress shall
be as nearly perfect as it is possible to
make it, it is essential that the War
Department shall obtain in the temporary
loan for the purpose of copying, of
any original official rolls, lists or other
documents that show the names of oCn-
federate officers and men and that are
row in the custody of State officials, his
torical or memorial associations, public
or private libraries, or that are in the
possession of private citizens.
ut is impracticable for the War De-
partment to communicate with the va
rious holders of these scattered records,
and consequently the department must
rely upon each State to collect by loan
or otherwise such records of its own or
other Confederate organizations as may
be obtainable within the State, and to
forward the collection when completed to
this department, by which the records
will be copied and returned to the State
with the least possible delay. OF course
the express charges incident to shipping
records to and from the State viii be
betrayed by the department.
Permit me to suggest, if the plan
herein outlined meets with your approval,
that you take such steps, through the
public press and otherwise. as you deem
to be advisable and proper to give the
plan wide publicity, and to enable you
to gather together all original Com
Tolerate records that can be collected in
your State by loan or otherwise.
III II occurs 10 YOU LhftC q AihSi oH I
plan from that indicated herein should
be adopted, or if during the progress OF
the work you can make any suggestion
tending to facilitate or improve it, you
will confer favor upon the department
and myself by advising me freely ana
fully with regard to your views
DR.. Dixon urges that all information,
documents, etc, be sent as repiadly as
POSSIBLE to him, so that he can forward
them to the War Department He also
REQUESTS that General Ainsworth's letter
be copied by the newspapers of the State.
lie has written to Major J. w. Moore, at
Powellsville, BERTHE county and will soc
him on the 9Th of April. 1t will be re-
membered that Major Moore printed the
first volume of his roster in 1882. A great
deal of his information was derived from
Major James w. Foote'S Roll of Honor.
which was written by hand on blank
books that ran the blockade from Eng
land during the Civil War
DR.. Dixon expressed himself yesterday
as Icing in hearty accord with the plan
as outlined by General AinsWorth.