The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 2, Volume 2. Page: iii
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PREFACE.
The work of preparing the records of the war for public use was
4egun under the resolution of Congress of May 19, 1864, by Adjt. Gen.
. D. Townsend, U. S. Army, who caused copies to be made of reports
f battles on file in his office and steps to be taken to collect missing
records.
Under the provisions of joint resolution No. 91, of 1866, Hon. Peter
H. Watson was appointed to supervise the preparation and formulate
a plan for the publication of the records, but he did no work and drew
no pay under this appointment, which expired July 27, 1868, by limi-
tation of the resolution. This resolution also repealed the former one
and work ceased.
The first decisive step taken in this work was the act of June 23,
1874, providing the necessary means "to enable the Secretary of War
to begin the publication of the Official Records of the War of the
Rebellion, both of the Union and Confederate Armies," and directing
him "to have copied for the Public Printer all reports, letters, tele-
grams, and general orders, not heretofore copied or printed, and prop-
erly arranged in chronological order." Appropriations have been made
from time to time for continuing such preparation. Under this .act the
preliminary work was resumed by General Townsend, who first out-
lined the plan on which the records are printed, though it appears
that originally he contemplated publishing to the world only the more
important military reports.
Subsequently, under meager appropriations, it was prosecuted in a
somewhat desultory manner by various subordinates of the War De-
partment until December 14, 1877, when the Secretary of War, per-
ceiving that the undertaking needed the undivided attention of a single
head, detailed Lieut. Col. Robert N. Scott, U. S. Army, to take charge
of the bureau and devote himself exclusively to the work.
The act of June 23, 1874, greatly enlarged upon the first crude
scheme of publication. On this more comprehensive basis it was de-
termined that the volumes should include not only the battle reports,
but also "all official documents that can be obtained by the compiler,
and that appear to be of any historical value." Colonel Scott system-
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The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Additions and Corrections to Series 2, Volume 2. (Pamphlet)
Errata sheets for the Records of the War of the Rebellion include additions and corrections to the text and the index for Series 2, Volume 2.
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United States. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 2, Volume 2., book, 1897; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139683/m1/4/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.