Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant

In preparing these volumes for the public, I have entered upon the task with the sincere desire to avoid doing injustice to any one, whether on the National or Confederate side, other than the un avoidable injustice of not making mention often where special mention 15 due. There must be many errors of omission in this work, because the subject is too large to be treated of in two volumes in such way as to do justice to all the officers and men en gaged. There were thousands of instances, during the rebellion, of individual, company, regimental and brigade deeds of heroism which deserve special men tion and are not here alluded to. The troops eh gaged in them will have to look to the detailed reports of their individual commanders for the full history of those deeds. The first volume, as well as a portion of the second, was written before I had reason to suppose I was in a critical condition of health. Later I was reduced almost to the point of death, and it became impossible for me to attend to anything for weeks. I have, however, somewhat regained my strength.