the following interesting letters, which are taken from leading new york newspapers, are now added to the 3d edition of this work. they form so unusual a testimonial from military officers, and also from the union men of the south, of the truthfulness and value of the book, both as a sketch of war scenes, drawn from a military point of view, and as a reliable account of the union sentiment which secretly prevailed at the south, that the executive committee have deemed them a desirable appendix to the foregoing pages.

an interesting incident.

editor of the ————.

the re-publication of judge nott's "sketches of the war," recalls an incident, connected with one of those unfaltering unionists of tennessee, which i trust will prove interesting to your loyal readers.

in the month of oct., 1863, when on a scouting expedition, after faulkner, which left union city, under the command of the celebrated captain frank moore, of the 2d illinois cavalry, we passed through como. it was after noon, and i, with my[pg 176] two companies of the 4th mo. cavalry, was ordered to "turn in" and feed, at a house, about a quarter of a mile out of town, where there seemed to be plenty of forage and "shoats." after seeing my command properly disposed, i stationed a guard at the house, and entered the gate. the lady of the house met me on the porch and invited me in. i observed to her, after entering, that i was obliged to stop to feed my command, as they were very tired and hungry, and asked if she could prepare a meal for some half dozen officers. she assented, and immediately went to the kitchen to give the necessary directions. when she returned, i inquired:

"is your husband at home?"

"no, sir. he is absent, looking for his stock."

i was then convinced of what i expected at first, from her frightened looks and distant manner, that her husband was in the rebel army.

"what," i ventured to ask, "is your husband's name?"

"hurt, sir."

"hurt, hurt," i repeated after her. "that name sounds familiar. i have seen or heard it somewhere. ah! now i remember. it was in a little work written by captain nott, called 'sketches of the war'."

"indeed!" she exclaimed. "did you know him?"

"very well. i was his 2d lieutenant in the 4th mo. cavalry, my present regiment. we left new york for st. louis, and entered this regiment together, in august, 1861. unfortunately, however, we were soon separated; for captain nott and his company were transferred to the 5th iowa cavalry, and i have not seen him since. it was a bitter disappointment to me, and i have never fairly got over it."

[pg 177]

"then you are really union soldiers? i'm sure you are."

"how could you doubt it?" i asked. "you see we wear the united states uniform."

"that is not always conclusive, captain. it was only the other day, that a force of rebel cavalry, disguised in blue coats, surprised and routed a detachment of the 7th tennessee cavalry, in this very place. i never heard such horrid yelling in my life. they acted like demons. since then, we are obliged to be very cautious."

here mrs. hurt excused herself, and, stepping to the door, directed tom to call his master. returning, she continued:

"i must apologize, captain, for deceiving you as to my husband's whereabouts. you see the difficulties of our situation. he will be here presently. his stock usually stray no farther than the nearest corn-field."

smiling at her explanation of what at first looked to me very much like a white lie, i observed, that i fully appreciated the dangers attending life in a country raided over alternately by each of two hostile parties; and that i well understood why, at first, i believed myself in a "secesh" house.

"i presume," i continued, "you have not seen captain nott's little book, describing his visit here, and his adventures in these parts?"

"oh, yes. and what is more, it is in a safe place. we hide it away, for fear it might get soiled."

she undoubtedly knew it would not be quite safe to let the "johnnies" find it.

mr. hurt now appeared, just as we were sitting down to dinner. several of my officers had come in.

[pg 178]

"husband, these are the friends of captain nott. i have explained your absence."

"i am delighted to see you, gentlemen; tell me all about the captain. we have entirely lost track of him."

"the last news we had of him, he was a prisoner at camp ford, texas. he was colonel of the 176th new york infantry. there is a rumor that he died in prison, but we do not credit it."

"i hope it is only a rumor. i never met a man, in my whole life, for whom i formed so strong an attachment. and if ever i find out where he is, i will visit him, if it takes me to china. i never saw an officer who had such remarkable control over his men. at the same time they seemed to idolize him."

we continued to chat till dinner was over, when mrs. hurt produced a copy of "sketches," which had been sent by the author. "nothing," she said, "would induce us to part with it."

the second edition of this charming little work, beautifully bound, and appropriately embellished with cavalry insignia, has just been issued from the press. judged by its predecessor, which has long since been exhausted, i have no doubt but this edition will meet a cordial welcome wherever real merit is recognized and rewarded. to facilitate in some degree its circulation, i desire to say something in its behalf: in the first place, because of my attachment to the author, under whom i entered the service; in the second place, because the work is a very deserving one; and thirdly, because it is published for the exclusive benefit of disabled soldiers.

compiled from a series of letters originally written to the pupils of ward school 44, of this city, of which the author was[pg 179] formerly a trustee, it might be inferred that the style and subject-matter would be exclusively adapted to the tastes and comprehension of children. the fact is otherwise. the author, as he states in the preface, has "carefully avoided that 'baby talk' and paltriness of subject," so common in works for juveniles, and has given "just such incidents and topics, as he would have chosen for their fathers and mothers." to the generality of adult readers, i venture the assertion, few works of romance will be found more absorbingly interesting. for myself, i freely say, that not only was i intensely interested; but, accustomed as i was, to all the details of cavalry service, i learned much from this little volume, which could not be found in "tactics" or "regulations." it is an excellent work for officers to read, both for amusement and information.

beside the exceeding attractiveness of the story, the scholar is fascinated by the dignity and purity of the composition—the simplicity of the style, and the surpassing clearness, naturalness and minuteness, which mark the book throughout. nothing seems to have escaped the observation of the author; and whatever he observed, he remembered. the smallest details are garnered, and made to contribute to the interest of the narrative. one of the prominent features of the work is, that most of the incidents, thrilling in themselves, are put in the colloquial form, thus giving them a directness and vivacity, which is lost in the third-person style. but, perhaps, the distinguishing charm lies in the fact, that the author has stamped himself upon his work. every page illustrates the nobleness and real goodness of heart, which ever characterized his actions.

oscar p. howe,

captain 4th mo. cavalry.

[pg 180]

from the new york tribune.

a new edition of "sketches of the war," by charles c. nott, is published by a. d. f. randolph, for the exclusive benefit of disabled soldiers, in the expectation of opening for them a profitable field of employment. the volume was originally written in the form of letters to the pupils of one of the public schools in this city, but the spirited and attractive character of its contents, as well as fidelity of its descriptions, have recommended it to a far wider circle of readers, and given it an extensive popularity. the new edition will be eagerly welcomed, both for its own merits and the benevolent purpose to which it is devoted.

the following interesting letter is from colonel george e. waring, of this city, late commander of the fourth missouri cavalry:

stamford, conn., feb. 23, 1865.

my dear hanson:—i send you with this a copy of "war sketches," which were written by colonel nott, who was captain in our regiment before your time, and with the tradition of whose good qualities you are familiar. it will be especially interesting to you, as recalling the scenes of our jolly rough-riding in western kentucky and tennessee.

do you remember (when we took our brigade from clinton, and started on that wild-goose chase after faulkner) how we went into camp on the west fork of clark's river, with our head-quarters in a retired nook in the bush, only large enough to hold our little party? and, how there came to us there, a mr. wade, a mr. chunn, and a mr. magness, whose statements, that they were unionists, we doubted, until they told us of their[pg 181] assistance to captain nott? how we trusted them then; and how faithful we found them? all of this pleasant summer campaign comes back to me—as it will to you—in reading the "sketches." and your mind will run on, as mine does, to our entrance into murray, the next day, and the sunday dinner with the good old fox-hunting mr. guthrie; (the rebels burnt his house down for that hospitality;) and our "secesh" visitors in the camp below conyersville, with their peach-brandy and honey; and the preparation for a night attack on the enemy at paris; and how that promising scheme was knocked on the head by a stupid order from our nervous old general, (a hundred miles away,) to turn immediately back, and leave our ripe fruit unplucked; how faulkner took courage from our movement, and broke up our game of corn-poker on the buffalo robe, in the next camp on the back track; and how we mounted and scoured the country, and couldn't find the party which had attacked us—only heard of them going toward paris again?

read the account of the entrance into paris, (pages 71 and 72,) and see if it does not take you back to our entering it, a year and more ago; and to our night at dr. matherson's brick house, at the head of the street, where we went for good quarters, thinking him a rebel, and wishing him out of our room before we settled ourselves for the evening, until he asked us if we knew captain nott, and shewed us that he knew, and was trusted by him; and what a cozy evening we passed with them, in spite of the bitter cold weather? we knew we were with a friend, and he did not spare his wood-pile in entertaining us.

how graphic is the description of the freezing fast to the ground of the citizens, when they first see us coming into a town (making it always look like sunday.) read, too, of the obion[pg 182] bottom—which was less muddy, but not more pleasant, to captain nott than to us—and of the wild confusion of single-rank cavalry when surprised; and of bischoff's holding the captain's stirrup under fire;—how like hover, and the "vierte missouri," that!—and of bischoff's gamey little black horse, bringing him through a tight place, just as miss pussy has done for you.

and the skirmish, over the piano, with miss ayres; how like it is to what i've so often seen from you and the other young ones of the staff.

it seems at first rather odd that a book originally written for school-girls, should be so exactly the book which is most interesting to men—even to those who have served—but it is precisely those little details, which one would think of writing only for children, which give to all the clearest idea of the realities of military life, and which best recall the daily pleasures, trials and anxieties of a campaign, when graver events have dimmed our recollection of them.

i am sure that i am sending you material for a few hours pleasant reading in camp, and i trust to captain nott, to turn your memory back to the companionship and the incidents of the months which we passed together, in the valley of the obion river.

very truly, yours,

george e. waring, jr.

to capt. hunn hanson, a. d. c.

h'd q'rs 16th army corps, mobile bay.

[pg 183]

new york evening post.

a good book and a good deed.

in the early part of the war mr. charles c. nott, a lawyer in this city, received from general fremont the appointment of captain of cavalry in a western regiment. soon after his entrance into active service he began a series of letters to one of our great public schools, of which he had previously been a trustee. these letters were read in school, were copied and recopied for manuscript circulation, and were at length published during their author's absence, under the title of "sketches of the war." the first edition met with a ready sale, and when captain (now colonel) nott returned from a year's imprisonment in texas, he found that it was entirely exhausted. for some months after his return the colonel devoted his time to organizing a bureau of employment for disabled soldiers, but on leaving it to accept the appointment of judge of the united states court of claims, which the late president conferred upon him, he published a second edition of his book, and presented it, with the stereotype plates and five hundred copies, to the executive committee of the bureau of employment, to be devoted exclusively to the aid of our disabled veterans.

the following interesting correspondence took place in march last:

"new york, march 4, 1865.

"messrs. howard potter, wm. e. dodge, jr., and theodore

roosevelt, ex. com. protective war claim association:

"gentlemen:—enclosed you will find an order on my publisher for five hundred copies second edition "sketches of the war," an assignment of the copyright of that work, and an order[pg 184] putting the stereotype plates at your disposal so long as you may wish to continue the publication for the benefit of disabled soldiers.

"i do this, trusting the sale may furnish to some of our greatest sufferers temporary employment. i have also indulged the hope that if our manufacturers should fail to furnish suitable employment to men who have lost an arm or leg, or suffered some equal disability, this little bequest of mine may lead to some similar action on the part of other officers. there is a much stronger tie between officers (who deserve that name) and soldiers than is generally supposed to exist, and i am confident there are numbers in new york who will come forward whenever the necessity is made known to them, and do all in their power to aid those soldiers who bear such unmistakable marks of their honorable service.

"i remain, gentlemen, very respectfully,

"charles c. nott."

"hon. c. c. nott, judge of court of claims, etc., etc.:

"dear sir:—we have your valued favor of the 4th instant, conveying to us an edition of your admirable 'sketches of the war,' with the copyright and stereotype plates of the same, for the benefit of disabled soldiers applying for employment at our bureau.

"we accept the trust most gratefully, the more so as evincing your continued interest in the work you have so ably inaugurated.

"congratulating you on the high position to which you have been called, we are, very sincerely, yours,

"howard potter,

"theodore roosevelt,

"wm. e. dodge, jr.,

"executive committee."

"new york, march 14, 1885."

the end