LIFE

AND CAMPAIGNS

13449

GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE.

BY

JAMES D. McCABE, JR.

WITH STEEL PLATE AND MAPS.

(Issued by subscription only, and not for sale in the book stores. Residents of any State in the
Union desiring a copy should address the publishers, and an agent will call upon them.)

NATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY,
ATLANTA, GA.; PHILADELPHIA, PA.; CINCINNATI, OHIO;
ST. LOUIS, MO.

2

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.

PREFACE.

I HAVE been led to the preparation of this work by a desire to collect
in a useful and convenient form a history of the achievements of the great
soldier, recently at the head of the armies of the South; and as he is
endeared to his countrymen chiefly by his connection with them in the gal-
lant struggle which has just closed, I have devoted the greater part of these
pages to that portion of his life, passing over the preceding with as little
delay as possible.

I have brought to the execution of this task a sincere desire to lay aside
the feelings engendered by four years of war, and to investigate fully, and
discuss impartially and truthfully, the topics that are presented in this
volume. I have spared no pains to render my sources of information as
complete as possible. In May 1861, I commenced to collect such papers
and documents, both official and unofficial, relating to the war, as I could
procure. To this task, begun for a purpose not altogether different from
that to which I have now applied it, I devoted the entire period of the
war, and was aided in it by many members of the various branches of the
Confederate Government and of the army. In this way I secured an
extensive and valuable collection of materials for a history of the war, or
biographies of the individuals connected with it; a collection embracing
over fifteen thousand papers of all kinds, to which, through the kindness
of friends, I have been able to add many valuable maps and charts. Since
the close of the war I have greatly enlarged this list by the addition of the
reports and official papers of the United States Commanders and Govern-

ment. These sources of information, to which I may add a personal
observation of the greater part of the war, have enabled me to make my
book more complete than it would have been had my material been less
extensive. I have also derived much assistance from the very valuable
work by Mr. William Swinton, entitled "The Campaigns of the Army of
the Potomac."

I have sought to present a fair and dispassionate narrative of the events
of the late war, to praise where praise was due, and censure where I
thought it deserved. It is for my readers to decide whether I have
succeeded or failed, but I trust that, whatever may be their decision, they
will at least do me the justice to believe that I have recognized the
responsibility of the task I have undertaken, and have honestly tried to do
my duty.

I take this opportunity of returning my thanks to the friends who have
aided me in the collection of materials; to Mr. S. W. Clifford, of Boston,
for valuable maps received from him; and to the publishers for the generous
and constant encouragement they have held out to me since the enterprise
was begun.

J. D. McC. Jr