CN sending forth this volume, the editors do so believing that it will be welcomed by the heroes of the great struggle

and also find a place in the hearts of the people who cherish the memory of the noble deeds and heroism of the brave hearts who left father and mother, wife and daughter, brother and sister, home and friends, for their country, thousands of whom to-day are peacefully sleeping in the "City of the Silent,' where no earthly "bugle call" disturbs their slumber.

Other war books have preceded this, but they have been for the most part purely historical and statistical, or the experiences and observations of a single individual, thus portraying but a glimpse of the most gigantic, thrilling, and bloody drama of the nineteenth century.

The actual facts and experience concerning such a colossal and terrific strife can in no way be so accurately and truthfully ascertained as by and through the unbiased testimony of the actors themselves.

Neither time, pains, nor expense has been spared in gathering the material for this volume, and it comes fresh from the heart and pen of more than three hundred veteran soldiers of the rank and file, both North and South.

The work is not confined wholly to the achievements of cannon, musket, and sword, but records many of the countless incidents and experiences prominent in soldier life, which are not only exceedingly entertaining, but decidedly instructive.