The Official Records of the War of the Rebellion

The first time I went to look at the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion at the LA Public Library (Central, Geneaology and History Department) the librarian said “it’s… it’s a lot” and then he showed them to me:

Before the Civil War was even over they’d started compiling the official records: every report and bit of correspondence they could gather.

Some of it is dull, and some of it is very vivid: