Excerpt from A Cycle of Adams Letters 1861 1865, Vol. 1 The series of letters printed in these volumes, individual in themselves, make an almost, unique combination. The time of writing, the crisis through which not only the nation but republican institutions were passing, the inheritance and position of the writers, and the personal characteristics of each as shown in the letters and as developed in later days, unite to give interest to the subjects treated and the manner of presentation. They are family letters, written in all the freedom of family intercourse, selected from what would fill many volumes; they are much more than family letters, for the description of social conditions, the discussion of public questions, and the wide relations held by the writers, make them a contribution to the social, military and diplomatic history of the War of Secession, unequalled in scope and concentrated interest. For nearly a century the Adams family of Massachusetts had filled high public office, a succession of students of government, of able administrators, whose independence and upright character commanded recognition. The third generation had as its representative Charles Francis Adams, the favored son of John Quincy Adams. On the election of Lincoln to the Presidency Mr. Adams was nominated to be Minister of the United States to Great Britain and was at once confirmed by the Senate. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from A Cycle of Adams Letters, Vol. 2: 1861 1865 The present great difficulty is to account for our failure to win a great victory and to destroy the rebel army in the recent battle. They do say that Hooker got frightened and, after Sedgwick's disaster, seemed utterly to lose the capacity for command he was panic stricken. Two thirds of his army had not been engaged at all, and he had not heard from Stoneman, but he was haunted with a vague phantom of danger on his right flank and base, a danger purely of his own imag ining, and he had no peace until he found himself on this side of the river. Had he fought his army as he might have fought it, the rebel army would have been de stroyed and Richmond today in our possession. We want no more changes, however, in our commanders, and the voice of the Army, I am sure, is to keep Hooker; but I am confident that he is the least re spectable and reliable and I fear the least able com mander we have had. I never saw him to speak to, but I think him a noisy, low-toned intriguer, conceited, intellectually smart, physically brave. Morally, I fear, he is weak; his habits are bad and, as a general in high command, I have lost all confidence in him. But the army is large, brave and experienced. We have many good generals and good troops, and, in spite of Hooker, I think much can be done if we are left alone. Give us no more changes and no new generals! About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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