Destruction and Reconstruction: / Personal Experiences of the Late War

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NEW YORK: D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 549 AND 551 BROADWAY. 1879.
COPYRIGHT BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 1879.
These reminiscences of Secession, War, and Reconstruction it has seemed to me a duty to record. An actor therein, accident of fortune afforded me exceptional advantages for an interior view.
The opinions expressed are sincerely entertained, but of their correctness such readers as I may find must judge. I have in most cases been a witness to the facts alleged, or have obtained them from the best sources. Where statements are made upon less authority, I have carefully endeavored to indicate it by the language employed.
R. TAYLOR.
December, 1877.
Secession. Causes of the Civil War—The Charleston Convention—Convention of Louisiana—Temper of the People.
First Scenes of the War. Blindness of the Confederate Government—General Bragg occupies Pensacola—Battle of Manassas—Its Effects on the North and the South— Initiative and Defensive in War.
After Manassas. General W.H.T. Walker—The Louisiana Brigade—The Tigers —Major Wheat—General Joseph E. Johnston and Jefferson Davis—Alexander H. Stephens.
Opening of the Peninsular Campaign. McClellan as an Organizer—The James River Route to Richmond—Army of Northern Virginia moved to Orange Court House—Straggling—General Ewell—Bugeaud's Maxims —Uselessness of Tents—Counsels to Young Officers.
The Valley Campaign. The Army moved to Gordonsville—Joseph E. Johnston as a Commander—Valley of Virginia—Stonewall Jackson—Belle Boyd—Federals routed at Front Royal—Cuirassiers strapped to their Horses—Battle of Winchester—A Walk Over at Strasburg—General Ashby—Battle of Port Republic.