in answer to hundreds of letters, i wish to say that all the incidents used in book i., which is properly the prologue of my story, were selected from authentic records, or came within my personal knowledge.

the only serious liberty i have taken with history is to tone down the facts to make them credible in fiction. the village of “hambright” is my birthplace, and is located near the center of “military district no. 2,” comprising the carolinas, which were destroyed as states by an act of congress in 1867. it will be a century yet before people outside the south can be made to believe a literal statement of the history of those times.

i tried to write this book with the utmost restraint.

thomas dixon, jr.

may 9, 1902.

elmington manor, dixondale, va.