Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 10.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

[521] had lapped over from 1877, and which had become very pressing, that it seemed a very serious question whether we could continue our work without risking the loss of out archives. Now we have the pleasure of reporting that we have not only been able to continue the regular issue of our Papers, and make our current receipts meet expenses, but that the generous aid of interested friends, and the sale of back volumes, has enabled us to liquidate nearly the whole of the old debt, and to make arrangements by which we confidently expect to be able to report on the first of next month, that we have not only paid the last dollar of our indebtedness, but have in our treasury the nucleus of a permanent endowment fund.

We have not lost sight of the fact that a main object of our Society has been the

Collecting of material for the future historian,

and we have steadily prosecuted that object. Our notices from time to time in our Papers, and reports, and other Mss. which we have published have shown the great value of many accessions to our material which we have had. We do not hesitate to declare that our collection is now one of the fullest, and most valuable in existence, and that in certain important directions our material is absolutely indispensable to any true history of the great “War between the States.” This is coming to be appreciated more and more every year by historians both in this country, and in Europe, and we are constantly giving most valuable help to seekers after the truth of history. Major Mangold, of the Prussian army, published in German last year a history of the second Mannassas campaign which an accomplished Confederate soldier pronounces “one of the ablest, fairest, and most accurate books” he has ever seen. A distinguished Federal soldier writing to the Secretary about this book says that “Major Mangold had evidently had access to ample Confederate material,” and desires to know where the reports, etc., which he quotes can be found. The simple reply was: “Major Mangold has been for several years in correspondence with our office and we have furnished him, as we are most happy to furnish any seeker after truth, all of the material which he needed.”

But we have reason to know that there yet remains in the hands of individuals all through the country, most valuable material, and we appeal to them (and we beg our friends to appeal to them) to send to our office (as a loan if they are not willing to donate it) anything and everything which can shed the slightest light on our grand history.