N correcting the figures given in this new edition, the latest War Department publications, the invaluable work of Colo nel Fox, and other well-known sources have been consulted. It must be remembered that no war statistics can be absolutely accurate. Records were not kept in the same manner in the Northern and Southern armies; many have been lost; some were never made. Should two equally competent and honest men figure up, from the material at hand and by the same rules, the combatants and casualties Of half-a-dozen battles, they would vary more or less. Even the War Department has, from time to time, altered the figures in many of its tables. But reasonable accuracy can be attained; and the author desires, among other sources of information, to express his peculiar indebtedness to the valuable work of Col. Thomas L. Livermore, whose tables of forces and casualties have been laid under free contribution. Colonel Livermore has figured out the numbers for the Northern and Southern armies on the same basis. His studies are intended to enrich the archives of the Military Historical Society — of Massachusetts; and his tabula tion of figures of the Civil War is singularly accurate and suggestive. The facts stated have been diligently compared with the Official Records of the Rebellion by Capt. Edward B. Robins, for many years Secretary of the same Society; and, owing to his valuable labor, for which my earnest thanks are due, every such fact can now be substantiated from the record.
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