THE LOYAL WEST IN THE Times of the Rebellion; ALSO, BEFORE AND SINCE: BEING AN ENCYCLOPEDIA AND PANORAMA OF THE WESTERN STATES, PACIFIC STATES AND TERRITORIES OF THE UNION. HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, AND PICTORIAL. ILLUSTRATED BY MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS, PRESENTING VIEWS OF ALL THE CITIES AND PRINCIPAL TOWNS-PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS-BATTLE-FIELDS-HISTORIC LOCALITIES NATURAL CURIOSITIES, AND SCENES ILLUSTRATING THE TIMES OF THE REBELLION, ETC., PRINCIPALLY FROM DRAWINGS TAKEN ON THE SPOT BY THE AUTHORS. BY JOHN W BARBER, AUTHOR OF HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF CONNECTICUT, MASSACHUSETTS, ETC., AND HENRY HOWE, AUTHOR OF HIST. COLL. OF VIRGINIA, OHIO, THE GREAT WEST, ETC. CINCINNATI: PUBLISHED BY F. A. HOWE, 111 MAIN STREET, SUCCESSOR OF HENRY HOWE. F 351 B231 Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865 BY F. A. HOWE, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern INTRODUCTORY DURING URING the sad, tragic years of the Rebellion, a large two-volume work, by the authors of this, was published under the title of “Our Whole Country." It was modeled on the same general plan with the Historical Collections of Massachusetts and of Connecticut, by John W. Barber; and the Historical Collections of Virginia and of Ohio, by Henry Howe. That work was issued at great expense, consequent upon years of labor, extensive travel, and the drawing and engraving of many hundred original views of objects of interest in all parts of our country. Coming out at a most gloomy period, its title alone had the effect to draw unkind comments from the unpatriotic; for, in their opinions, as in their hopes, the little child, who in those days, in its innocence, misspelled the title of the Nation's Map, terming it the "Un-tied States," committed no error in the fact. The knot, as resulted, instead of being cut, was tautened by the sword; and the just principle, the greatest good to all, established on a lasting foundation. Yet, at what a terrible cost of agony and of suffering! The very flower of the land, North and South, slain!—and in such multitudes, that a double row of coffins, extending in unbroken lines from Richmond to Washington, would be sufficient to contain only the lesser number of the dead. Such the result, so little anticipated, that the mistaken leaders boasted to their deluded people, that they would agree to hold and to quaff all the blood that would be shed, from the hollow of their joined hands. The changed condition of a part of our country, united to the increased expense of book publishing, has prevented the issue of successive editions of the larger and more expensive work; but, instead, there will be given much of the original material of that in separate books, embodying in them more or less of the grand historical events of the past few years, in which history has been piled upon history to monumental hights, and by which this whole people have been lifted into clearer skies, and to happier visions. A companion book to "The Loyal-West" will soon be found in "The Loyal East;" while "Our Whole Country,” in its completeness, is suggested by their union with a third upon that unhappy section, the valor and endurance of which, though in error, have been extraordinary. Words are the physiognomy of ideas; more than this, they have voices, and are ill-looking, or good-looking, sound harshly, or sound sweetly, according "to the spirit of which they are of." Words, too, grow into our affections, as the ideas they express become endeared to us. Not one in the English language ever so suddenly grew beautiful, in form and in sound, as the word Loyal to us Americans. Originally used to signify fealty to government, when government was intrusted to one man, a single sovereign, it now means faithfulness to government, when an entire people are sovereigns, and is as much stronger in its meaning, more majestic in its impression, as the millions are more powerful and more majestic than the one. At any rate, the "plain people" so believe-the "plain people," whose countenances are daily brightening with increasing intelligence, and growing more and more joyous with expanding hopes. An old man with whom the "red" fires of patriotism so burned under the "white" locks of age as to compel him to become one of the boys in "blue"-a member of the famous Iowa Gray-beard Regiment-on hearing the proposed title of this work, exclaimed, with fervor, "Yes! the West IS Loyal!" This was definite; but the word West is not. We here apply the title to those States of our Country's West which in the Rebellion were faithful to the Union. Can you think of any other word that so completely expresses the geography embodied ? "The LOYAL West to FREEDOM true!” Many years must elapse before another book will be issued upon the West, involving so much of labor and expense as this. More of both were given before the first sheet was printed than to most volumes of the same size and price completed for the market. We design this as a standard work upon the West, and in successive editions, to enhance its value by such modifications and additions as may seem desirable. We trust it will become a Household book for the Western people; and not what only this, but to add to the evidence, if it were necessary, a mighty empire, under the influence of our good government, has grown up here on the sunset side of the Alleghanies, since many among us first looked upon the beautiful things of life in the simple, trusting faith of childhood. |