The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records Of The Union and Confederate Armies Series I-Volume II Operations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia April 16-July 31, 1861. civil war clbcat7 jmc

Washington D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1880. First Impression. Hardcover. In quite good condition.. Octavo, [23cm/9.25inches], full gilt-embossed ebony-coloured, cloth sans dust jacket, pp. iv, 1102, indexed. Illustrated with b-w halftones &tc.. Please feel free to inquire as to particulars and/or additional photographs. from the time of the Secession of Virginia (April 17th) to McClellan's appointment as commander of Federal troops in the Washingto D. C. area, (July 27, 1861) ... Ohio State University's E-History notes: "No serious study of the American Civil War is complete without consulting the Official Records. Affectionately known as the "OR", the 128 volumes of the Official Records provide the most comprehensive, authoritative, and voluminous reference on Civil War operations. The reports contained in the Official Records are those of the principal leaders who fought the battles and then wrote their assessments days, weeks, and sometimes months later. The Official Records are thus the eyewitness accounts of the veterans themselves. As such they are "often flawed sources – poorly written in some cases, lacking perspective in others, frequently contradictory and occasionally even self-serving." Nevertheless, they were compiled before the publication of other literature on the subject that, in several cases, caused some veterans to alter their memory and perception of events later in life.Impetus for publishing the Official Records came from Union General-in-Chief Henry Wager Halleck. Apparently overwhelmed by the task of writing his 1863 annual report to Congress, Halleck recommended to the Committee on Military Affairs the collection and publication of official documents and reports on all Civil War operations. Republican Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, introduced a Joint Resolution "to provide for the printing of the official reports of the armies of the United States." Both the House and the Senate adopted Wilson’s resolution on May 19, 1864. President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill into law the next day. Officially titled, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, the Official Records are compiled in 127 volumes, plus a General Index and accompanying Atlas. Editor Robert N. Scott divided the OR into four major topical areas: Series I contains 53 volumes (Books 1-111) and focuses on military operations. These include the battle reports for both Union and Confederate armies, arranged chronologically by campaign and theater of operations. Union reports are followed by Confederate accounts. The intent is to provide a complete history of the event in the same volume".