[Book Intro] Historical Research all to often resembles diamond mining. Great effort is needed to sift through vast amounts of material to find a few gems. Happily, the source of this book was a rich vein lying just under the surfact of the Library of Congress Newspapers and Periodicals Reading Room among the microfilm rolls of newspapers and records.The National Tribune lay there quietly, not much disturbed by other miners of history, all but forgotten. This weekly publication was the ancestor of the Stars and Stripes, the service newspaper of the United States Armed Forces, founded in 1877 "to secure to soldiers and sailors their rights...."
Later the Tribune become known for its regular feature. "Fighting Them Over: What Our Veterans Have to Say About Their Old Campaigns," which solicited memoirs from veterans of all ranks and backgrounds. This column established the National Tribune as a forum for discussion, debate, and reminiscence for veterans around the country, eventually becoming the official paper of the Grand Army of the Republic."
This feature is a practically unknown treasure trove of firsthand accounts of America's bloodiest war, the struggle that defined the United States as a nation. Within this trove are the serialized reminiscences of the Chief Scout of the Army of the Potomac, Judson Knight, the the "Fighting Them Over Again" feature, which this book presents for the first time.
The brilliant Col. George H. Sharpe, 120th New York Volunteers created American all-source military intelligence as Chief of the Bureau of Military Information (BMI) for the Army of the Potomac. He became one of Grant's favored family of generals. Judson Knight always referred to him with respect.