There is too much truth in the Irish observation that "Ho one thinks of strewing flowers on a friend's grave till after he is dead."<br><br>The writer entertained a decided feeling that a man like General Haupt, full of years, of goodness, of unselfish patriotism, and of widely fruitful deeds, certainly should have his "grave" bestrewn with the very choicest flowers while yet there was life to enjoy their fragrance.<br><br>This feeling led to the publication of the present volume.<br><br>The main portion of it, which is General Haupt's, was committed to writing by him in 1889. He had no intention of publishing the collection - merely desired to get into record form, for the gratification of his grandchildren and other immediate descendants, many important facts concerning our civil war which had entirely escaped the attention of historians - especially those in which he was either the foremost or a conspicuous actor. They embrace personal interviews with the President, Secretary of War, General Halleck, and the Generals in command of the armies in the field, of which there are no official records.<br><br>While going over his manuscript in search of material to verify certain portions of a Life of Edwin M. Stanton, the writer discovered not only the general historical value of the matter, but that the almost abnormal modesty of the narrator had resulted in so much self-submergence as to entirely deprive him of many important honors to which he was incontestably entitled.