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Paperback. Condition: VG. Inscribed and SIGNED by author. INTRODUCTION The idea for this volume originated in 1990, when New York State Newspaper Project field cataloger Beverly Denninger discovered while performing her duty of ferreting out any and all newspapers in Central New York, several bound volumes of Civil War-era New York Heralds about to be discarded. She called the Project staff at the New York State Library in Albany and it was decided to save the papers for some useful purpose. Upon their arrival in Albany, it was discovered that the Heralds' pages contained many engraved maps for the years 1861-1865. Shortly after this revelation, the Project -- which had begun in 1987 to actively inventory, catalog and microfilm New York State's newspapers with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities -- formed a non-profit group called the Friends of the New York State Newspaper Project. The Friends, who help publicize the Project and raise microfilming funds to be matched by NEH, were approached with the idea of publishing a book of maps to be reprinted from the rescued Heralds, a proposal they supported. It was soon decided to add soldiers', sailors' and civilians' letters published in other newspapers from across the Empire State during the War of the Rebellion in order to add depth and immediacy to the information contained in the maps. The slow process of compiling and editing the maps and letters began, with the help of Project staff, several members of the State Library's staff, and a few Friends, who all volunteered hundreds of hours of their own time to' help make the idea a reality. 134 pages.