EXPLANATIONS. SPECIAL COMPILATIONS. [Pages XXXI-L, post.] For the convenience of historians and other students of the civil war records, certain special compilations (in addition to the "General Index" and the "Additions and Corrections") have been made and are published in this volume. Those compilations are as follows: Synopsis of the contents of volumes. This statement describes the scope of each of the four series into which the work is divided, and the general operations and principal events covered by each volume. To this is added a table which shows the volumes (called "Companion Volumes") that refer to particular groups of operations from the beginning to the close of the war. Special index for the principal armies, army corps, military divisions and departments. - This is an abstract, from the general index, of references to the volumes in which are to be found documents pertaining to the operations of the principal commands or organizations. It contains certain other references, chiefly with regard to army corps, which are explained on page XLIII, post. This abstract enables the searcher to readily trace the operations of any or all of the larger commands without recourse to the widely separated entries in the general index. Table showing volumes pertaining to contemporaneous operations. This table shows the volumes containing documents relating to operations in each month from December, 1860, to the end of the war. By the aid of the table the reader can find the records of all contemporaneous operations throughout the country during any month of any year. GENERAL INDEX. [Pages 1-1087, post.] The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies consist of official reports, correspondence, orders, returns and maps. Each volume, including the Atlas, contains a full index which points to these papers under appropriate headings, and, in addition, contains the names of each individual and of each military organization (from an independent company to a regiment) mentioned in the text. The General Index, which is an abridged consolidation of the indexes to the several volumes, points to the volumes alone and not to parts thereof. The searcher should, therefore, consult the indexes to the several parts of the volumes indicated in the general index for definite reference to matter pertaining to any particular event, subject or person. The letters U and Care used in place of the words "Union" and "Confederate." Other abbreviations are so easily understood that a detailed explanation of them is unnecessary. A plus sign (+) following a volume reference shows that the "Additions and Corrections" (pages 1091-1242, post) for the volume indicated should be consulted. The series are indicated by roman numerals I, II, III, IV, meaning, respectively, first, second, third and fourth series. Arabic figures, following the roman numerals, are used to indicate the volumes of the several series. Organizations, from an independent company to a regiment, which were designated or known by the names of their commanding officers, changing names with successive commanders, are indexed as follows: [Extracts from general index.] Arkansas Troops (C.). Artillery, Light-Batteries: Provence's-Humphreys'-Rivers'. Pennsylvania Troops. Wrigley's-Gaskell's-Smith's. The arrangement of names in the preceding extracts denotes the several commanders in regular order of succession. As a rule (to which there are a few exceptions, especially in the case of army corps) brigades, divisions, army corps, armies and geographical military divisions and departments have not been indexed, either in the volumes or in the general index, under their numerical or other designating titles, but are referred to under the names of their commanding officers. A full explanation of this subject will be found in the note which precedes the Special Index, page XLIII, post. In many volume indexes initials only have been used for Christian names, but in the general index the full names have been supplied as far as possible. Errors and omissions that have been discovered in the various volume indexes are not shown in the general index, which contains the corrected or completed entries only. All such errors and omissions, however, are fully set forth in the additions and corrections for the several volume indexes, to which attention is directed in the general index by the use of the plus sign (+), as explained above. The following extracts from a volume index, together with corresponding extracts from the general index, illustrate the plan of both indexes and the relation between them: [Extracts from index, Series I, Volume XII, Part II.] Adjutant-General's Office, U. S. A. Correspondence with Porter, Fitz John.... Orders, General, series 1862: No. 18, 507. Orders, Special, series 1862: No. 256, 766. Lee, Robert E. Congratulatory order. Battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., Aug. 9 Adjutant and Inspector General's Office, C. S. A Mentioned.. 505, 506 185 176, 551 6-8, 12, 13 June 26-Sept. 2. Virginia. Operations in. 3 Halleck, H. W., assumes command of Armies of the United States.... Sept. 2. Pennsylvania Reserves. Army of the Potomac Virginia. Operations in, June 26-Sept. 2. Communications from 53 396 Banks, Nathaniel P., assumes command of Second Corps....... 3 3 The foregoing extracts from a volume index are referred to in the general index as follows: [Extracts from general index.] Adjutant-General's Office, U.S. A., I, 12. Adjutant and Inspector General's Office, C. S. A., I, 12. Army Headquarters, I, 12. Banks, Nathaniel P., I, 12. Bayard, George D., I, 12. Cedar Mountain, Va. Battle, Aug. 9, 1862, I, 12. Confederate Troops. Casualties, 1862, I, 12. Organization, strength, etc., 1862, I, 12. Louisa Court-House, Va. Reconnaissance, Aug. 16-17, 1862, I, 12. McDowell, Irvin, I, 12. Northern Virginia Campaign. Aug. 16-Sept. 2, 1862, I, 12. Peninsular Campaign. Mar. 17-Sept. 2, 1862, I, 12. Pope, John, I, 12. Porter, Fitz John, I, 12. Potomac, Army of the (U.), I, 12. Sigel, Franz, I, 12. Stuart, James E. B., I, 12. Union Troops. Casualties, 1862, I, 12. Organization, strength, etc., 1862, I, 12. Virginia. Operations, 1862, I, 12. Virginia, Army of (U.), I, 12. ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. [Pages 1091-1242, post.] The "Additions and Corrections" for the volumes composing the four series of the entire work are arranged to correspond with those volumes, the additions and corrections for the text of each volume preceding those for the index of the same volume. All errors and omissions that have been discovered in the text of the several volumes, except errors in names, are shown and corrected in the additions and corrections for the text of those volumes. Errors in names, whether occurring in the text or indexes, are indicated and corrected in the additions and corrections for the indexes of the volumes in which the errors have been found, and not (with a few minor exceptions) in the additions and corrections for the text of those volumes. All errors and omissions that have been found in the indexes of the various volumes are shown and corrected in the additions and corrections for the indexes of those volumes, italics being used to indicate the corrected or additional entries and roman letters, in brackets, to indicate the erroneous or incomplete ones. Wherever it has been found necessary to strike out a part or the whole of an entry in a volume index, the words or figures to be erased are embraced in brackets in the additions and corrections for that index. Any alteration that has |