Slavery & Four Years of War (Vol.1&2) - A Political History of Slavery in the United States Together With a Narrative of the Civil War

The writer of this book was a volunteer officer in the Union army throughout the war of the Great Rebellion, and his service was in the field. The book, having been written while the author was engaged in a somewhat active professional life, lacks that literary finish which results from much pruning and painstaking. He, however, offers no excuse for writing it, nor for its completion; he has presumed to nothing but the privilege of telling his own story in his own way. He has been at no time forgetful of the fact that he was a subordinate in a great conflict, and that other soldiers discharged their duties as faithfully as himself; and while no special favors are asked, he nevertheless hopes that what he has written may be accepted as the testimony of one who entertains a justifiable pride in having been connected with large armies and a participant in important campaigns and great battles.

Joseph Warren Keifer (1836 - 1932) was a major general during the Spanish-American War and a prominent U.S. politician during the 1880s. He served in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from Ohio from 1877 to 1885 and from 1905 to 1911. From 1881 to 1883 he was Speaker of the House.