limb than some of the famous battles of the Revolution cannot even find mention in a volume like this. Writers intent upon military details almost ignore the causes of the war, the spirit in which it was conducted, the complications that actually arose or were avoided by skilful diplomacy, and the significance of the results. I have therefore treated these subjects in somewhat larger proportion than the battles and sieges. As the book is intended for easy reading, and not for hard study, I have avoided tripping up the reader on every page with foot-notes and references. In a few cases it seemed desirable to cite an authority; but generally the sources of information are such that a reader wishing to pursue the subject more minutely, can readily find them.
For some of the important campaigns and actions, it is impossible to obtain undisputed figures as to the numbers engaged and the losses on either side. After the second year of the war, the Confederate commanders appear to have withheld all reports of their losses; and these items have been sedulously written up or written down, in accordance with personal interest or prejudice, though the mournful statistics have little to do with the philosophy of the struggle. In each instance I have given the figures that seem to be most authoritative.