It was assumed on Fast Day that one should criticise only what he saw.I have never understood that Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the RomanEmpire" is any the less good because he did not live in the first fewcenturies of the Christian era, or that Jomini could write any lesswell of Frederick than of Napoleon. Service certainly helps a man in hisresearches or work, but it only helps. The best critic may be one whonever served. I think I was the first officer to whom the Secretary ofWar permitted free use of the rebel archives for study. I have had goodopportunities. How I have used them, I leave to others to say. It iseasy to capture a meeting of honest-hearted veterans by such lamentableprestidigitation as was exhibited on Fast Day, and to pass anyresolutions desired, by appealing to their enthusiasm. I prefer to bejudged by the sober after-thought of men who are neither partisans,nor ready to warp facts or make partial statements to sustain theirtheories.THEODORE A. DODGE.BOSTON, April 10, 1886.
Transcriber's Appendix: Transcription notes:The first edition of this book was published in 1881. The author'sappendix was added in the second edition, in 1886, which is the sourcefor this etext.The following modifications were applied while transcribing theprinted book to e-text:chapter 4- table on p 19, fixed typo ("McGown", should be "McGowan")chapter 12- p 71, para 1, fixed typo ("inititate")chapter 18- p 111, para 1, fixed typo ("Pleasanton")chapter 27- p 180, para 1, fixed "the the"Limitations imposed by converting to plain ASCII:- The words "manoeuvre", "manoeuvres" and "manoeuvring" are printed inthe book using the "oe" ligature. The term "coup d'oeil" was alsoprinted with the "oe" ligature, "minutiae" was printed using the "ae"ligature, and several other French terms (such as "elan" and "echelon")were printed with accented vowels. However, this does not seem enoughto merit an 8-bit text.- Italics were printed for various non-English words and phrases, andoccasionally for emphasis. For the most part, these were simplyconverted to plain text. However, I did use underscores to denotetwo italicized phrases in the author's appendix, where the use ofitalics was more significant.I did not modify:- The phrases "on each side the road", "on both sides the road"- The first paragraph of chapter 22 contains the phrase"angle of refusal or Archer and McGowan"I believe "or" is incorrect and should be probably "for" or "of", butI don't know which. "or" is printed in both the 1881 and 1886 editions,so I left it as is.
The first edition of this book was published in 1881. The author'sappendix was added in the second edition, in 1886, which is the sourcefor this etext.
The following modifications were applied while transcribing theprinted book to e-text:chapter 4- table on p 19, fixed typo ("McGown", should be "McGowan")chapter 12- p 71, para 1, fixed typo ("inititate")chapter 18- p 111, para 1, fixed typo ("Pleasanton")chapter 27- p 180, para 1, fixed "the the"Limitations imposed by converting to plain ASCII:- The words "manoeuvre", "manoeuvres" and "manoeuvring" are printed inthe book using the "oe" ligature. The term "coup d'oeil" was alsoprinted with the "oe" ligature, "minutiae" was printed using the "ae"ligature, and several other French terms (such as "elan" and "echelon")were printed with accented vowels. However, this does not seem enoughto merit an 8-bit text.- Italics were printed for various non-English words and phrases, andoccasionally for emphasis. For the most part, these were simplyconverted to plain text. However, I did use underscores to denotetwo italicized phrases in the author's appendix, where the use ofitalics was more significant.
I did not modify:- The phrases "on each side the road", "on both sides the road"- The first paragraph of chapter 22 contains the phrase"angle of refusal or Archer and McGowan"I believe "or" is incorrect and should be probably "for" or "of", butI don't know which. "or" is printed in both the 1881 and 1886 editions,so I left it as is.