A Daughter of Maryland — page 12: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

PREFACE. WITH nearly a third of a century filling in the void of years reaching back to that thrilling epoch, he who was a mere boy at the time of the great war drama of modern age ought to be able to write calmly and dispassionately of the trying times he has attempted to describe in the following pages. He certainly has no desire to jumble history for the ' sake of a good story, nor to gloss over the mistakes or mag- nify the glory of any of its participants. Whatever of dialogue is given must be read with a realization that it represents not the opinions of this late day, but the natural impressions belonging to the real actors of that dark period. He believes there were good men and true who wore the gray, and true men and good in the uniforms of blue. That there were patriots in the South is evidenced by the calm assurance and good feeling with which they accepted the result of the struggle and set about without a murmur to repair their shattered hopes and fortunes, doing this with all the zeal of their victorious brothers. General Lancier belonged to this class, and a thorough Southron at heart he was a staunch upholder of what he believed was for the common weal. Thus in his defeat he proved himself a victor. The undersigned believes he has faithfully depicted that grand charge of Pickett’s men according to the most relia- ble acounts. It was a grand charge, viewed in whatever light falls upon the shifting scene of battle, and every way worthy of a comparison to the heroic struggle of the Old Eomicboo cS co Le