Preface.
It is fit that a few words be said here regarding the authorship of these volumes, in a general way to express the gratitude of the publishers for the hearty co-operation and patriotic spirit of all the distinguished gentlemen who have contributed to this work, and specially to note briefly those facts regarding the life of each that commend them alike to the confidence of the South and the high regard of the student who seeks historical authority. Hon. J. L. M. Curry, Ll.D., who writes upon “The legal justification of the Southern States in their ordinances of secession, and the honorable course of the Confederate States government in the conduct of the war,” has had a long and eminent career familiar to the people of the South. During the important period, 1857 to 1861, he represented his Alabama district in the Congress of the United States, and upon the secession of his State he was elected a delegate to the first provisional Congress, at Montgomery, and a member of the first Confederate States Congress, at Richmond. After the close of his term he served in the field in Georgia and Alabama. Subsequently he entered upon religious and educational work, was president of Howard college. a professor of [-002] Richmond college, Virginia, and since 1881 general agent of the Peabody educational fund. During the first administration of President Cleveland he represented the United States as minister to Spain, and his experiences in that country are related in one of the several contributions which he has made to literature. Prof. William R. Garrett, author of the history of the South as a factor in the formation and extension of the Constitutional Union, is a Virginian by birth and was graduated at William and Mary college. He enlisted as a private in Col. B. S. Ewell's regiment, but soon afterward became captain of an artillery company which won the praise of Gen. J. E. B. Stuart at the battle of Williamsburg. His subsequent service was as adjutant, first of a battalion of partisan rangers in Tennessee, and later of the Eleventh Tennessee cavalry regiment, until he was surrendered with General Forrest at Gainesville, Ala. Returning to Virginia, he became master of the grammar school of William and Mary college, but in 1868 he made his home in Tennessee, where he has devoted his talents to the cause of education. He has been State superintendent of public instruction, was president of the inter. national meeting of the National educational association at Toronto, and is professor of American history at PIeabody normal college, editor of the American historical magazine, vice-president and chairman of the historical committee of the Tennessee association of Confederate soldiers, and member of the committee on history of the United Confederate Veterans. Gen. Clement A. Evans, in addition to the editorship of these volumes, has contributed a monograph upon the civil history of the Confederate States, treating specially of the political events of the period, also a brief general view of the military history. General Evans is familiar to the people of the South, through his gallant service in the army of Northern Virginia-at the close commanding Gordon's division; his prominence in the national [-003] organization of United Confederate Veterans, and his distinction as a citizen of the great State of Georgia. His lucid and forceful exposition of the history of the Con. federate States government, in its relation to the States, the people, and other national governments, is an essential part of this historical library. Lieut. William Harwar Parker, of gallant record both in the navies of the United States and Confederate States, just before the close of his life contributed to this work the sketch of the Confederate States navy which appears in the final volume. A practiced writer on historical, and scientific subjects, no one could have been found better qualified to present, in the brief space which could be allotted, an account of the gallant deeds of the navy. He entered the service of the Confederate States after twenty years connection with the old United States navy, during which he had participated in the war with Mexico, and sailed upon the first cruise, in the Pacific, of the Merrimac. His gallant performance of duty on the North Carolina coast early in 1862, was followed by memorable service in the famous battle of the ironclads in Hampton Roads, and on the Palmetto State in Charleston harbor. Subsequently he organized and was superintendent of the Confederate States naval academy until the close of hostilities. In the course of his subsequent career he served as president of the Maryland agricultural college, and as minister of the United States to Corea during the first administration of President Cleveland. “The morale of the Confederate armies,” a chapter demonstrating the high character of the Confederate soldier, his unflinching endurance of hardship, unyielding allegiance to principle, and unfaltering obedience to orders, is the subject of a chapter of the final volume, from the pen of the gifted Confederate chaplain, Rev. John William Jones, D. D. His career in the army, first as a private soldier, afterward as chaplain of his Virginia [-004] regiment, and of A. P. Hill's corps, army of Northern Virginia, marching with the soldiers, going with them into battle, and ministering to them in hospital, from Harper's Ferry to Appomattox, qualifies him in an exceptional manner for an adequate treatment of this subject. His life since the war has been consecrated to religious and benevolent work in the South, and to preservation in literature of the memories of the great conflict for Southern independence. Gen. Stephen D. Lee, who entered the Confederate service as an officer of artillery, from South Carolina, rose to great prominence in that army at the time of the battle of Sharpsburg; then being sent to the Mississippi river, defeated Gen. W. T. Sherman at Chickasaw bayou; was afterward in command of the department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, and from Atlanta to Bentonville commanded Hood's corps of the army of Tennessee, with the rank of lieutenant-general. Since the close of the war he has devoted himself to the vital interests of his beloved South, along the line of technical education, and for several years has been president of the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical college. He is thoroughly in sympathy with the Confederate soldier, and is honored by the order of United Confederate Veterans with the rank of lieutenant-general and the position of chairman of the historical committee. General Lee has prepared for the final volume of this work an able statement of the political history of the South since the war, and an enthusiastic resume of its present material development and prospects. Gen. Bradley T. Johnson, the gallant organizer and leader of the Maryland Line, distinguished in many of the battles of the army of Virginia, one of the most brilliant regimental and brigade commanders under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, and for a time in command of division, is the author of the military history of Maryland, a subject which he is eminently qualified to [-005] handle. With a facile pen he has traced the history of his State, in so far as it was involved in the Confederate war. Col. Robert White, of Wheeling, W. Va., a distinguished attorney familiar to the veterans of the South through his prominence in the order of United Confederate veterans as major-general commanding the West Virginia division, is a native of Hampshire county, of the original State of Virginia. As a captain of volunteers he reported to Col. T. J. Jackson at Harper's Ferry in the spring of x861. Subsequently he raised a battalion of cavalry within the enemy's lines, which he commanded with gallantry, finally becoming colonel of the Twenty-third Virginia cavalry, of which his battalion was the nucleus. At the close of hostilities he had a record of gallant participation in fifty-six cavalry fights. In the preparation of the history of West Virginia he has given much time and pains to the collection of data in a field peculiarly unfavorable for the preservation of records, and his work will doubtless remain the authoritative statement of the Confederate history of that region. Almost the last work of the lamented Major Jed Hotchkiss, of Staunton, Va., was the completion of his history of Virginia. Very soon after he laid down the pen with which he traced the record of the war in Virginia, and of the great army which was led by Robert E. Lee, he was called to the rest of the soldier and Christian. As topographer and staff officer under Garnett, Lee, Jackson, Ewell and Early, he was undoubtedly more familiar with the battlefields of Virginia than any other man, and it is fortunate for the students of to-day and of future generations that his account of the war in that region should be here preserved. Particularly in regard to the Valley campaigns of Stonewall Jackson and Early, and the campaigns of the Second corps of the army of Northern Virginia, he was an historical authority. Much of what he has written for this work is from his personal [-006] records and recollection, and the work is also indebted to him, originally, for many of the maps which are reproduced from the War Records. Prof. D. H. Hill, author of the North Carolina history, bears a name familiar to the readers of this work, that of his gallant father, Lieut.-Gen. Daniel H. Hill. His mother, a sister of the wife of Lieut.-Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, is a daughter of Rev. Dr. Morrison, of North Carolina, who was a relative of the distinguished Illinois congressman, William Morrison. Professor Hill has devoted his life to the work of education, beginning his career, after his graduation at Davidson college, North Carolina, as professor of English in the Georgia military and agricultural college, at Milledgeville, under the presidency of his father, and afterward. In 1889 he was appointed to the position he now holds, the chair of English in the Agricultural and Mechanical college of North Carolina. Gen. Ellison Capers, whose task it has been to present the important part taken by South Carolina in the great war, is well equipped for the duty by his birthright as a descendant of one of the earliest families of that State, and his patriotic service with her troops. He was identified with the military operations in the State, mainly the defense of Charleston and the railroad communications of the city, until the situation became dangerous in the West. Thereafter he was a participant in the great campaigns for the defense of the heart of the Confederacy, until he fell, severely wounded, before the Federal works at Franklin, Tenn. One of the most gallant affairs of the war in that important mountain region south of Chattanooga, was his memorable defense of Ship's gap, covering Hood's retreat from North Georgia in the fall of 1864. Entering the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal church, after the war, he is now bishop of the diocese of South Carolina. Prof. Joseph T. Derry, author of the military history of [-007] Georgia, is a native of Milledgeville, of that State, was graduated at Emory college in 1860, and in January, x86x, enlisted in the Oglethorpe infantry, a famous military company,that served throughout the war. Mr. Derry was on duty in Virginia, Tennessee, on the Georgia coast and in the Atlanta campaign of 1864, his service being terminated by capture on the skirmish line at Kenesaw Mountain, June 27th, after which he was a prisoner of war at Camp Douglas, Chicago, for about one year. Since his return to Georgia his life has been devoted to educational work. For several years he was professor of languages at the Wesleyan Female college at Macon, Ga. He is the author of a “School history of the United States,” “The story of the Confederate States,” and has contributed articles to the Century and other magazines. Col. J. J. Dickison, major-general commanding the United Confederate Veterans of Florida, is the author of the war history of that State. He is a native of Virginia, was educated in South Carolina, and became a citizen of Florida in 1856. He was identified with the organization of troops for Confederate service from the beginning, and soon becoming distinguished for ability as a cavalry leader, was intrusted with the defense of the eastern part of the State from the incursions of the enemy who held the seaports. Fighting for Florida from the opening to the close of the war, he was the Marion of his State, and achieved fame throughout the Confederacy. Gen. Joseph Wheeler, of Alabama,who has prepared for this work an account of the part taken by his State and her people in the great conflict of 1861-65, is beloved by all the people of the South, as he has been since his days of gallant leadership as one of the great cavalry generals of the Confederacy. His laurels were won, and his rank of lieutenant-general attained, before he had reached the age of thirty years. The middle period of his life was given to the civil interests, the restoration of the prosperity, and the re-establishment of the political status of [-008] his people, whom he has continuously represented in the United States Congress. In the past year, and just after he had prepared the Alabama war history for this work, he renewed his military reputation as major-general of United States volunteers, commanding the cavalry in the Santiago campaign of the war with Spain, and attracted to himself, in addition to the love of the South, the admiration and pride of fellow-citizenship of the people in all parts of the united nation. Col. Charles E. Hooker, of Jackson, Miss., author of the military history of that State, entered the Confederate service in 1861 as a volunteer in the First Mississippi regular artillery, and was captain of his company during the siege of Vicksburg, when he lost his left arm. He was surrendered with the army under General Pemberton, and upon being exchanged was promoted o colonel and assigned to duty as a member of the military court for the army of Mississippi. He was leading counsel in the defense of President Jefferson Davis during the trial at Richmond; was selected as the orator for the reunion of the United Confederate veterans at Atlanta, July, 1898, and as a citizen of Mississippi since the war has had honorable prominence as attorney-general for two terms, and member of Congress for sixteen years. Hon. James D. Porter, author of the military history of Tennessee, entered the Confederate States service in 1861 as adjutant-general, with the rank of captain, on the staff of Gen. B. F. Cheatham, and with promotion to major he was on duty during the course of the war, either as a staff officer or as acting lieutenant-colonel of a regiment. His association with the army of Tennessee peculiarly qualifies him to give a correct account of its operations. His career since the war has been one of prominence. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1870, judge of the western circuit of the State, governor of Tennessee from January, 1875, to January, 1879, assistant secretary of State of the United [-009] States during Cleveland's first administration, and minister to Chili in 1892-96. Col. J. Stoddard Johnston, of Louisville, author of the history of Kentucky for this work, is a native of New Orleans, was reared in Kentucky, and educated at Yale college and the Louisville law school. His service during the war as a staff officer with Generals Bragg, Buckner, Breckinridge and Echols, with the army of Tennessee and in the department of East Tennessee, where the Confederate soldiers of Kentucky were mainly engaged, enables him to follow their record through the four years with intelligence and just appreciation. Since the war period Colonel Johnston has held the offices of adjutantgeneral and secretary of state of Kentucky. The preparation of a military history of Missouri was intrusted to Col. John C. Moore, of Kansas City, and his finished work may be confidently submitted to the verdict of the reader. Colonel Moore is well known as an accomplished writer, and for this work he is specially fitted by his Confederate service as a staff officer with Generals Marmaduke and Magruder, and as colonel commanding a regiment with Gen. Jo Shelby. The years that he has given to historical studies bearing on the general Confederate subject, and his complete sympathy with Southern ideas and ideals, have further equipped him for this faithful presentation of Missouri's part in the great conflict. Col. John M. Harrell, of Hot Springs, Ark., has brought to the preparation of the war history of his State memories of four years service in her defense, and the ripened intellectual powers of a life devoted to the profession of law, in which he yet maintains a high rank. As a staff officer with Generals Holmes and Breckinridge he had opportunities for gaining valuable information regarding the operations which he now describes. As colonel of cavalry, also, and as commander of Cabell's brigade in the latter part of the war, he took a conspicuous [-010] part in the campaigns in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Indian Territory. The important military operations in that region, too often neglected in a view of the far-reaching war, are clearly and adequately presented in Colonel Harrell's work. The military history of Louisiana has found spirited treatment at the hands of John Dimitry, A. M. Mr. Dimitry, now engaged in journalism and literary pursuits, is the eldest son of the late eminent scholar, Prof. Alexander Dimitry, and since his boyhood has been identified with Louisiana. Returning in 1861 from Central America, where he acted as secretary to his father, United States minister, he enlisted in the famous Crescent regiment of New Orleans, and going into battle at Shiloh received a severe and disabling wound. Subsequently he became chief clerk of the postoffice department at Richmond under Postmaster-General Reagan. He accompanied the presidential party in April, 1865, as far as Washington, Ga. On his return to Louisiana he wrote the famous epitaph for Albert Sidney Johnston, which is now carved upon the tomb erected by the association of the Army of Tennessee, at New Orleans. Gov. Orin M. Roberts, author of the Texas history, is another who, since the completion of his work, has passed to the reward of an honorable life. He was a native of South Carolina, a descendant of Revolutionary ancestors, a graduate of the university of Alabama, and in 1840 a settler in Texas. As a lawyer at San Augustine he gained distinction; became district judge, and later associate justice of the supreme court. In 860 he was president of the State convention called to decide the future status of the commonwealth. When the war began, he organized a regiment, of which he became colonel, serving until the close of hostilities with a creditable record. He was elected to the United States senate immediately after the war, but was refused his seat; was chief justice of Texas 1874-78, and governor of the State 1878-84. [-011] Subsequently he was for ten years professor of law in the State university. The illustrations include portraits of the leaders of the Confederacy, both in the civil administration and on the field of battle. Maps have been especially engraved to show each State as it was in the war period, indicating the battlefields and routes of important military movements. A great many battle maps are also given, where possible from Confederate sources, for which the publishers are indebted to the admirable atlas accompanying the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. The biographical department of this work includes sketches of the lives of the President, Vice-President and cabinet, other prominent officials of the government, and the war governors, and covers every grade in the military service. It has been the object of the Editor and Publishers to present brief biographies of every general officer commissioned by the Confederate States as such, and in addition, of as many of subordinate grades as would give to the reader and preserve for the study of future ages an adequate picture of that wonderful and unsurpassed character-flower of the manhood of the century now hurrying to an end — the Confederate Soldier.Confederate Publishing Company.
