Recollections of persons and places in the West (1868)

Connected with the Army of the Potomac as Surgeon, I saw, personally, all its great leaders, obtained their biography over their own signatures, and was witness of many of their deeds of daring and renown. Three years' constant travel among the Union Armies in the South and West, as Sanitary Agent, furnished a field of observation seldom equaled. Rapidly the tide of events bears us away from the scenes of the war, and soon many noble deeds and noble men will be forgotten and buried among the dim relics of the past. To preserve the history of these eventful days, as gathered from original sources and personal observation, I submit these life-sketches of Union commanders, in the hope that the present generation will not cease to remember the devoted line of heroes that saved the Nation, but transmit the story of their achievements to a future and loyal posterity.