History of The Third Indiana Cavalryby W. N. Pickerill |
|
From the Preface:
One hundred and thirty volumes, published by authority of Congress, and entitled "The War of the Rebellion, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies," are supposed to contain a history of every military organization serving on either side of the mighty conflict, known as the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865.
To read the story of a regiment, as the government has preserved it, in all these numerous volumes, which as a rule are only found in public libraries, or in the collections of a few fortunate indi- viduals, would be the work of a good part of the lifetime of many of those who survive, but had somewhat to do with the great struggle. To serve these worthy men, their families, and those who have gone out from among us, but have left posterity, to whom their memories and deeds of valor are very precious, this history of the Third Indiana Cavalry has been prepared.
Much of what is herein offered to those who read this book was written - at the time when the deeds herein recorded were enacted - by those in authority, and while those deeds were fresh in the minds of the participants. This volume is more a compilation of what others, better qualified, have written than a narration in the writer's own language of the interesting story of one of the most splendid regiments that served in the Civil War. The records are referred to by volume and page, so that it will always be possible for the doubting to verify the correctness of what is herein written, should they have access to the records. Many things still vivid in our memories, the recital of which would tell an interesting story of the valor and devotion to duty of our comrades, never found a place in any record or report, as seems to have been necessarily true of any regiment in the cavalry service, while others, for whose omission there seems hardly to be any excuse, have been preserved in the reports of famous leaders of our enemies, whom we met on many a well contested field.
The daily life of the common soldier, as it was lived in our war, in camp, on the march, on picket, in the hospital, in captivity in Southern prisons, and on the battlefield, can never be under- stood or fully appreciated except by those who lived that life, and its portrayal, that others may realize it as we realized it, must ever remain unwritten history.
Indianapolis, May, 1906.
History of The Third Indiana Cavalry
Paperback - $25.00
CD-ROM - $15.00
Ebook - $9.49
A copy of this book is available in the
ResearchOnLine 
Digital Library.