The Continuing War

THE CONTINUING WAR by James I. Robertson, Jr. rr is both superfluous and dangerous for a person new to office to state at the outset what he intends to accomph'sh in the months ahead, and your new editor wül not join company with John Brown on the gaUows of history by so committing himseU. That every effort is being made to enrich your interest in and knowledge of the Civü War we hope wül be reflected in future issues. Our primary aim is fittingly expressed in the title of this column. But lest we create a suspicion of the unknown, we present a hint of things to come. Three special issues are in various stages. The first, which we hope to pubUsh this year, wül treat of Civü War religion and wül include articles on specific faiths, chaplains, and a spattering of letters and diaries from the front lines. A second issue wül be devoted to prisons and prison conditions on both sides. Monographs on Andersonv üle, Libby, and other camps wül be complemented by discourses on over-aU treatment. A third number of Civil War History wül center on wartime railroads. Robert Selph Henry wül be our guest editor for that issue. In between, we plan to pubUsh articles on such themes as the trial and execution of Henry Wirz, the naval battle of Drewry's Bluff, the death of H. M. T. Walker, Halleck at Second Manassas, Civil War fiction , several articles on economics and social life, excerpts from soldiers' diaries and letters, and other papers on diverse subjects. Obviously, therefore, the heaviness of this issue on things miUtary is not necessarily indicative of future issues. Yet we wiU strive always to present the better or more provocative commentaries on specific campaigns in order to chaUenge and appease the hundreds of our readers who, luce their editor, are but armchair generals at heart. ß ß ß Biographies lead the field in spring releases and writing. Warren Hassler has foUowed up his detaüed study of McClellan with a work of larger scope, Commanders of the Army of the Potomac, which LSU Press wülpubUsh shortly___ Denlinger's, pubUshers of Middleburg, Virginia , has issued an historical novel on John Tyler by J. J. Perling. EntitledThePresidentTakesaWife , this work is heavy onTyler's thwarted 84 attempts to prevent civü war and his aUegiance to Virginia and the Confederacy in the last months of his life___ Chicago's Edward A. Egan is completing his biography of Father Ryan, the Southern clergyman whose postwar poetry gave strength to a conquered area. None in the South forgotthe closinglines of"The Conquered Banner": "Touch it not —unfold it never, Let it droop there, furled forever, For its people's hopes aredeadl" Little, Brown wül pubUsh the selected wartime letters and papers of Robert E. Lee. Clifford Dowdey and Louis Manarin are working jointly on this Virginia Civil War Centennial Commission project. The first volume, estimated at 900 pages, is tentatively slated for pubUcation on April 23, 1961___ Iowa State's E. B. Smith is writing a dual biography of the famous Blairs: Francis, Sr., and Montgomery. . . . LeRoy Fischer at Oklahoma State is nearcompletion ofhis study of Adam Gurowsld of wardiary fame. PubUcation is scheduled for late this year. A rash of Lincolnah'a is on its way. Threeyears in the making, Lincoln, Unforgettable American: His First 150 Years, will be published soon by Doubleday. Carl HaverUn, Ralph Newman, Bruce Carton, and many others have contributed to what no doubt will be one of the year's bestseUers . . . . Andrew A. Freeman has written a detaüed account of the events surroundingthe CooperUnion speech, Abraham Lincoln Goes to New York, is the title of this Coward-McCann February release. . . . Lloyd Ostendorf, president of Dayton's Civil War Round Table, has written a unique Uttle study, Mr. Lincoln Comes to Dayton. It treats of Abe's 1859 visit to the Ohio city and is rich in the poUtical issues of the day. Interested persons may obtain copies—in paperback or hard covers —from Mr. Ostendorf at 225 Lookout Drive, Dayton 9----- Exposition has pubhshed The Constitutions of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson...