in that momentous and thrilling episode of our nation's history, are simply priceless. They virtually bring us face to face and into the very presence of the men who were leaders in the world's greatest political tragedy. Here are life-like portraits of President Lincoln, Generals Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Thomas, McClellan, Hooker, and many others on the Union side; and Generals Lee, Johnston, Jackson, Longstreet, and others of the Confederate army, all appearing as they were at the time, and in the midst of surroundings that appeal to the heart and mind of every American. What would we not give today for a faithful reproduction of the features and form of George Washington, of Hamilton, of Jefferson, of the Adamses, and of those other great men who established the liberties of our country; and how keen is the regret when we realize that this is impossible. But here we have a vast series of portraits -of actual reproductions-of the great men of the civil war, taken from life and showing them as they were in their time of trial and strife. They are not imaginary paintings or drawings, but living photographs of the men who saved the Union on the one side, and of those who strove to dismember it on the other. Fortunately for all, the Union was saved, a fact which rejoices. none more than those who fought so valiantly to destroy it.
This work has been brought down to date, including the events of the second administration of President Roosevelt, by an eminent scholar and historian; whose name, however, is omitted, because it is the desire of the publishers to give full credit to the original author, Benson J. Lossing, and to make this his lasting monument. Every word up to the date of his death came warm from his hand, vibrating with the magnetism of his great mind. It is our purpose, therefore, to place no other name on the title page, except that of his artist collaborator, F. O. C. Darley; and thus to pass their work, with its affectionate mutuality of sentiment and feeling, down to coming generations.
In its finished state, as here produced, and brought down to the latest notable events in the annals of our beloved country, it is the earnest desire of all who have been associated with this patriotic effort, that it may afford healthful instruction to the young, pleasure and profit to the aged, and be appreciated at its real worth by every student and reader of American history. THE PUBLISHERS.