Excerpt from Freedom Triumphant: The Fourth Period of the War of the Rebellion From September, 1864 to Its Close In this volume, as in all that have preceded it, I have endeavored to divest myself of prejudice; to place myself, as far as it is possible for one who was an observer of the great conflict and loyal to the Union, in the position of those who were fighting for the establishment of the Con federacy. I recognize their sincerity, valor, bravery, endurance, suffer ing, achievements, and triumphs; I hold out to them fraternal hands, have but one wish - that love, peace, prosperity, and the best blessings of Heaven may rest upon them forever. I write to set forth the truth of history, and have endeavored to present only authentic statements. It will be for the historian of the future to place a correct estimate upon the motives of the actors, and the parts performed by them in this great historic drama. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.