Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee

Yesterday's lighthearted post (or so intended) has prompted me to examine the Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee in a bit more depth. The book's title can be sneakily deceptive to the casual reader. Lee died in 1870, before he had the opportunity to write his autobiography although he had been mulling it over for several years. This collection of Lee's unpublished letters was collected by his son, Captain Robert Edward Lee, who also fought for the Confederacy, while the recollections are also written by the son and are of the father. Much of the recollections are anecdotal and provide charming accounts written by a clearly devoted son. In spite of the book's lack of objectivity, it provides an invaluable insight into the Marble Man and is necessary for any study of Lee. Of particular note is that almost half the book covers Lee's five post-war years. As historian Richard Harwell noted in In Tall Cotton, this book is "as close to an autobiography of Lee as it is possible to come." On the other hand, Harwell felt that the book "lacks unity and is otherwise less than satisfying" while Nevins referred to it as "disjointed and sentimental."

The first edition was published in 1904 by Doubleday and Co. It was bound in gray cloth with a square shaped gilt, green and red device on the front cover, and featured gilt lettering on the spine. The book has been in print practically from the day it first appeared. An early 1920's reprint in uncommon jacket is pictured and available for sale here. The book was also reprinted in 1926 with ten pages of new material and then fully reissued in 1960 with a new introduction by Philip Van Doren Stern. An inexpensive facsimile has also been published in the last decade by the reprint house of Konecky & Konecky (pictured). Nevertheless, for a book of such age and importance, first edition copies are still reasonably priced. The book is also readily available for online reading at Google print.

Who Needs Books With Robert E. Lee v1.0?

"Learn about Civil War Confederate General Robert E. Lee. This is a computer version of the book: Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee by Captain Robert E. Lee, His Son. A view of Robert E. Lee from letters Lee wrote to family, friends, business associates, and by personal stories and memories of his son. This engaging book will help you to understand what Robert E. Lee was really like as a general, husband, friend, father, and president of a college. Read on screen, print, or listen to the book. Features Text-To-Speech technology. This software can speak in a human-sounding voice and read aloud the Civil War book."

Yes, but can "James" bring me a beer if I want one?

Rare Confederate Book on Botanicals

"It was not President Lincoln's Union Army that dealt the Confederacy its greatest blow. While 94,000 Southerners died in battle, a staggering 164,000 died of disease. Much of the suffering was due to a rapidly declining supply of medicine in the South as blockades restricted importation of all essentials.
When enemy camps were overrun, speculators raided the medical stores, capturing morphine, quinine and chloroform to resell at 50 times their original value. It was such a problem that Gen. Lee called upon the secretary of war to put an end to the practice.

In anticipation of this supply problem, Surgeon Maj. Francis Perye Porcher set about creating a manual on indigenous botanical substitutes titled "Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests, Medical, Economic and Agricultural." Published in 1863, the 600-page book was distributed to medical officers to help aid the sick and wounded. It is said to have helped so many that Confederates were able to hold off the Union Army for two additional years."

So states this online article that highlights Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests by Francis P. Porcher, an extremely rare Confederate title that offers amazing examples of what the Confederate homefront went through in order to treat their sick civilians and soldiers. The article further notes that "thanks to the Internet and the University of North Carolina, this formerly obscure text is online and free for everyone to peruse.

According to Willian Reese Booksellers, "Porcher was one of the most prominent medical figures in the antebellum South, and the founder of a hospital for slaves in Charleston in 1855. His early work on medical botany and his reputation as a physician led to his appointment as Surgeon- General of the Confederate States. Porcher's book was roundly hailed in its day by Confederate boosters, and the work was commissioned by the Surgeon-General of the C.S.A. It remains a thorough and impressive work on the agricultural, botanic, and economic resources of the South." Richard Harwell in his classic In Tall Cotton (#150) described the book as "probably the most ambitious and important work produced in the Confederacy.

The book itself is obviously very rare in the first edition. The 4 copies I found on the internet range in price. from $2500 to $6000. A new edition was produced in 1869 and for Civil War booklovers of more modest means, it appears that a sturdy modern hardcover reprint from 2007 also exists that can be had for $75.

I Hate It When This happens

I just logged on to eBay and missed by seconds the opportunity to buy a unique Gettysburg tour guide book from 1924 for a few bucks. This softcover is titled Gettysburg: What They Did Here and runs about 165 pages. It bills itself as the "Standard Historical Guide on the Battle" and is a reprint of the very scarce 1892 first printing. This version is profusely illustrated with plates and portraits and has a large folding map of the battlefield inside. A nice item if you like old pictures of the battlefield. Ample copies on ABE with reprint copies running from $11 to $85. Caveat emptor.

Book Collecting 101

The Student Book-Collecting Contest as hosted by the University of Virginia. I love it. Building tomorrow's collectors/bibliomaniacs today.

From the Self-Promotion Department

I've just been informed by Pineapple Press, the publisher for my first book, Discovering the Civil War in Florida, that the first printing is almost gone and that they'll be reprinting the paperback version. If my memory serves correctly, the first printing was 1000 hardback copies and 3000 paperbacks, so I'd say it's been a respectable seller over the past seven years. If you're interested in getting a signed, first edition hardcover, drop me a line.

How to Build a Lincoln Collection

Someone calculated that approximately 14,000 Abe Lincoln titles have been published over the years. Which ones should you own? This article offers some advice.