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 FIRST CONNECTKT) ACCOUNT Ol- llll<: 
 
 Efforts of the People of New York for Defending the Union 
 
 During the late Civil War. 
 
 " The Financial and Military Honor of New York 
 City (luring the late Civil War " is the title of a course 
 of two lectures to be delivered bj' Thomas S. Townsexd. 
 Compiler of the "National Kecord Library," on the 
 evenings of March ;5()th and April 1st. 
 
 Tiiis is the first efltbrt to present a connected view of 
 the patriotic movements of the people of all parties in 
 New York City for sustaining the Government during 
 its struggle for preserving the National Existence. 
 Tliese lectures are delivered in accordance with the 
 recommendation of nearlj' a hundred prominent citi- 
 zens. 
 
 Although the subject itself may be siifficieut to in- 
 terest the citizens ge:iei\illy, the committee of arrange- 
 ments deem it appropriate to say a few words con- 
 _Qeruing the lectures and the speaker. 
 
 While several ciiies hive at pitbllr expe/nse published 
 their War Kecords as Memorials of what their people 
 contributed towiirds preserving the National Existence, 
 
 THE CoMMERCIAt. METROPOLIS OF THE UnION, to which 
 
 the Government first appealed directly for relief in 
 troops andmoney and provisions, (when even food-sup- 
 plies, as well as railways and telegraphs, were cut off 
 by the rebels,) has done nothing publicly for that pur- 
 pose : And the i^reservation of this great City's War 
 Record, in connected and systenvdlc form, is nearly ac- 
 complished by the tact and energy of a single citizen, 
 (who has devoted over fourteen years to the work,) 
 unaided by public bounty — his great compilation (the 
 first hundred folio volumes of which " National Bec- 
 ord Library " will be shown on the lecture platform) 
 being no arranged, analyzed and indexed, thut every fad, 
 name, and opinion published by aU our Metri)politan 
 Journals, through the whole contest (on both sides — 
 Southern as well as Northern) can be readily found by 
 any inquirer— a ta-sk of e\p\icitnesH HnparaUeled in the 
 records of any nation -- -■-■ -■ - - 
 
 Mr. Bryaxt lately said editorially that the effort of 
 Mr. Towuseud "surpasses the labor of the forty Acade- 
 micians who compiled the dictionary of the French 
 language " — " the task of compiling a lexicon in any 
 
 language being trivial in comparison." "Here are 
 materials (Mr. Bryant added) for writing a History 
 OF the Civil War more Accurate and Circi'mstantial 
 than was ever written about any war ever waged." 
 
 This "National Record Library" inaugurates a 
 New Mode of Arranging and Preserving the Facts 
 OF History— compiling impartial materials for ready 
 reference by Journalists, by Historians, and by the 
 public : And it would probably form one of the most 
 interesting contributions which the City of New Ycn-lc 
 could send for exhibition at the ap])roachiug CEN- 
 TENNIAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 This new mode of preserving public records has 
 been warmly approved by Governor Dix and by several 
 other citizens, like Mr. Bryant, well qualified to judge: 
 And the New York Historical Society has added its 
 sanction by recommending its members to consider 
 themselves as a "Committee of the Whole" for pro- 
 moting the success of this National Record Library. 
 
 The efforts of the Ladies of New York to siLstain 
 the National Cause by encouraging volunteering and 
 by the formation of .Sanitary Associations and other 
 modes of relieving the wounded and providing for the 
 families of soldiers— will be noticed in the lectures as 
 among the brightest portions of our City History con- 
 nected with the Civil War -as will also tlie service 
 rendered by the bankers and capitalists and other 
 classes as well as by the various military organizations. 
 
 It is hoped by friends who have thorouglily examined 
 the Record Library, and who I'ullj^ appreciate the im- 
 portant services rendered by the people of New York 
 during the late national emergency, that our citizens 
 generally will manifest their interest in the history of 
 the times by their presence at these lectures. 
 in behalf of the Committee of Arrangements, 
 HENRY ORIELLY, 
 JOHN IRVING, 
 F. B. LAWRENCE. 
 New York, March 17, 187o.