Grant's Memoirs

Anyone remotely familiar with the Civil War will have heard of the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, supreme commander of the Union forces in the field and eighteenth president of the United States. Not only are they considered a cornerstone work of Civil War history, they are also deemed the finest memoirs ever written by a U.S. president.

The story of how the work came to be is also of interest to bibliophiles. Grant and his family were financially devastated by scandal and failed investments in the years following his presidency. Therefore, in 1884 Grant set out to write his memoirs as a hoped-for mechanism to bring needed funds to the family. Grant began to feel a pain in his throat soon after he began dictating to his secretary. His pain worsened and before long, eating and swallowing became almost impossible. He then learned that he had terminal cancer necessitating that his work pace quicken. In early 1885, Grant signed a deal with his friend Mark Twain to have Charles Webster and Co. publish the books; a firm co-owned by Twain and his niece's husband. That summer, Grant and his family moved to a cottage in the Adirondacks to escape the summer heat. It was there that Grant finished his manuscript, working feverishly day and night in order to beat the reaper’s arrival. Grant died on July 23, 1885, just several days after turning the completed manuscript in to the publisher.

Twain published the Memoirs later that year and sent 16 general agents along with 10,000 door-to-door salesmen all over the country to sell the work. Many of those sales reps were Civil War veterans who wore their old, tattered army uniforms to create sympathy for their beloved general. Twain sincerely appreciated Grant's writing and he praised the Memoirs warmly. Of Grant he wrote, “This is the simple soldier, who, all untaught of the silken phrase-makers, linked words together with an art surpassing the art of the schools and put into them a something which will still bring to American ears, as long as America shall last, the roll of his vanished drums and the tread of his marching hosts.”

Grant's memoirs won critical acclaim and about 300,000 sets were sold. His widow Julia ultimately received over $400,000 in royalties from the project, thereby restoring the family fortune. As to the books themselves, the Memoirs were offered as a two-volume set with five binding options. They included a fine cloth binding with plain edges at $7.00 a set to a full-leather binding with hand-tooled gilt lettering at, what was then, a whopping $25 a set. In between were three partial-leather options. The least expensive editions were bound in dark green cloth and are today relatively common, though appreciating in price. ABE for instance, currently offers 10 sets ranging from $525 to $1250 in the deluxe morocco leather binding. Personally, I think a cloth-bound set in very nice condition can be had for under $300. Those leather-bound sets however (see picture), are the most desirable and are indeed scarce. All editions contain a typeset facsimile of Grant’s signature, yet many owners mistakenly believe that their copy is indeed signed by the late war hero. Obviously, Grant never lived to see the final product, let alone inscribe any copies of it.

Here's Another Online Article...

... about collecting Civil War books. It's fairly short and primarily discusses works of fiction.

Fourth Iowa Cavalry - Deluxe Edition

Not too long ago I was doing some book-based internet surfing and came across the Camp Pope Bookshop and Press. It appears that their specialty are "new and used books on the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War." Admittedly, this is one facet of the war that I know very little about. One offering however, immediately caught my eye and that was their reprint of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry's official regimental history. The Story of a Cavalry Regiment: The Career of the Fourth Iowa Veteran Volunteers From Kansas to Georgia was written by William Forse Scott, the regiment's final adjutant. It was originally published by G. P. Putnam's in 1893 and is now a scarce book, what with prices for the first edition in the $400 to $600 range. It is also considered "the best history of a Hawkeye cavalry unit," according to Nevins, Robertson, and Wiley in their Civil War Books: A Critical Bibliography.

Camp Pope reprinted the book in 1992, describing it as "one of the best regimental histories ever written." Of particular note was a ten-copy deluxe edition handbound in Nigerian goatskin and fine linen bookcloth by Jeff Sandlin of Valparaiso, Indiana [see pic]. I wrote to the press asking if they could fill me in a bit on the book's genesis and proprietor Clark Kenyon graciously responded thusly:

This edition was done back when I had the reprint done in 1992. I had met Jeff Sandlin at the Midwest CW Collectors' Show in Wheaton, Illinois, some time earlier and saw that he sold CW books in fine leather bindings. I decided, considering the excellence of Scott's book as a regimental history, to make something special out of my reprint. I sent Jeff 10 copies which he rebound with a numbered edition page that identified him as the bookbinder. These were all shrink-wrapped. I had to hand number the books, but I didn't want to take them out of the shrink-wrap until they were sold, so I put a small sticker on each and numbered that. When someone ordered a book, I took off the shrink-wrap and wrote the number from the sticker on the numbered edition page. I left the choice of materials up to Jeff, with the specification that I wanted the edition to resemble the first edition, which was also 3/4 leather, each copy signed by the author and General Edward F. Winslow, who had been the commander of the 4th Iowa Cavalry. After nearly 16 years there are still two copies left, numbers 3 and 10.

The deluxe edition is priced at $150 and the regular reprint at $40. If you'd just like to read about the 4th Iowa, then a historical sketch of the regiment can be found here. The book itself is available online here via Google Print.

Santa Brought Me...

... a copy of Troubled Commeration: The American Civil War Centennial, 1961-1965. I'd wanted this one since it came out earlier this fall as it combines two of my favorite pastimes: the Civil War and modern American politics. It's garnered much favorable press and fits right in with the extensive current interest in historical memory.

Here's the rundown from the publisher:

In 1957, Congress voted to set up the United States Civil War Centennial Commission. A federally funded agency within the Department of the Interior, the commission's charge was to oversee preparations to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the central event in the Republic's history. Politicians hoped that a formal program of activities to mark the centennial of the Civil War would both bolster American patriotism at the height of the cold war and increase tourism in the South. Almost overnight, however, the patriotic pageant that organizers envisioned was transformed into a struggle over the Civil War's historical memory and the injustices of Jim Crow. In Troubled Commemoration, Robert J. Cook recounts the planning, organization, and ultimate failure of this controversial event and reveals how the broadbased public history extravaganza was derailed by its appearance during the decisive phase of the civil rights movement.

Cook shows how the centennial provoked widespread alarm among many African Americans, white liberals, and cold warriors because the national commission failed to prevent southern whites from commemorating the Civil War in a racially exclusive fashion. The public outcry followed embarrassing attempts to mark secession, the attack on Fort Sumter, and the South's victory at First Manassas, and prompted backlash against the celebration, causing the emotional scars left by the war to resurface. Cook convincingly demonstrates that both segregationists and their opponents used the controversy that surrounded the commemoration to their own advantage. Southern whites initially embraced the centennial as a weapon in their fight to save racial segregation, while African Americans and liberal whites tried to transform the event into a celebration of black emancipation.

Forced to quickly reorganize the commission, the Kennedy administration replaced the conservative leadership team with historians, including Allan Nevins and a young James I. Robertson, Jr., who labored to rescue the centennial by promoting a more soberly considered view of the nation’s past. Though the commemoration survived, Cook illustrates that white southerners quickly lost interest in the event as it began to coincide with the years of Confederate defeat, and the original vision of celebrating America's triumph over division and strife was lost.

The first comprehensive analysis of the U.S. Civil War Centennial, Troubled Commemoration masterfully depicts the episode as an essential window into the political, social, and cultural conflicts of America in the 1960s and confirms that it has much to tell us about the development of the modern South.

As other bloggers have noted, it will be interesting to see if the federal government does anything with the upcoming sesquicentennial.

New Expanded Edition of "Co. Aytch"

In my opinion, a major Civil War "reissue" has occurred and with surprisingly little fanfare. That being the reissue of Sam Watkin's cornerstone classic Co. "Aytch:" First Tennessee Regiment, or, A Sideshow of the Big Show in an expanded edition. If you saw Ken Burns' The Civil War TV mini-series, then you know of Watkins, for his memoir of serving as a Confederate foot soldier was quoted at length. According to the publisher, "The classic Co. Aytch has reigned as one of the most memorable and honest depictions of the American Civil War since its original publication in 1882. Sam R. Watkins's first-hand account of life as a Confederate soldier eloquently captured the realities of war, the humor and pathos of soldiering, and the tragic, historic events in which he participated. Although there have been dozens of versions of Co. Aytch published, this is the first with new material and revisions by Sam Watkins himself. Intending to republish after his first edition sold out, Watkins edited and revised Co. Aytch adding a new perspective that only came with time. He died before accomplishing his goal. Now more than one hundred years later, Watkins's great granddaughter, Ruth Hill Fulton McAllister is fulfilling Watkins s dream. Using his yellowed, aged, and pencil-marked copy handed down through different family members, McAllister has crafted a masterpiece that combines the ageless text with Sam Watkins's intended revisions.

This new edition incorporates actual images of Watkins's handwritten additions, all his desired editorial changes, and more than forty images. Desiring to be true to both her ancestor's wishes and the sanctity of his classic memoir, McAllister skillfully included Watkins's additions and artfully indicated what he would have omitted, leaving the original text intact. The result is a rich, expanded, director's cut version of Co. Aytch, sure to fascinate historians, Civil War enthusiasts, and new readers alike."

Serious book collectors will know that this newly revised and expanded edition also earns the bibliographic designation of "First Edition Thus." Unless you're one of the blessed few who own one of Sam's original firsts, this is now the edition to have on the shelf. I'm usually not one for predictions, but in this case, I'll venture that this first printing will only rise in value over the coming years. With bookshelf space at a premium, my hardcover reprint of the original book will soon be gone in order to make way for this collectible edition. Hat tip to J. D. Petruzzi for alerting me to this via his blog.

General Robert McAllister

Farmer and railroad executive before the war, Robert McAllister (1813 - 1891) first became an officer in the Civil War as the Lieut. Colonel of the 1st New Jersey Infantry before being promoted to colonel of the 11th New Jersey Infantry in August 1862. From there, he led his regiment through the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg, McAllister was severeley wounded and carried off the field. According to this bio, McAllister went through "a four-month convalescence, then returned to his unit and was given command of his brigade. He never relinquished brigade command after that, and was repeatedly commended for his leadership in the subsequent Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania and the Petersburg Campaign. He was promoted to Brevet Brigadier General on October 24, 1864 for gallant and distinguished service at the battle of Boydton Plank Road and then brevetted a full major general on March 13, 1865 for overall meritorious service during the war. When the end came at Appomattox, McAllister was there.

According to the publisher, McAllister was "not a flamboyant leader or a braggart," but rather "one of the quietly efficient commanders whose noble gallantry ultimately proved to be the salvation of the Union. He took part in all but two engagements of the Army of the Potomac and was twice wounded and three times promoted for heroism on the battlefield."

The Civil War Letters of General Robert McAllister were published by Rutgers University Press in 1965 under the auspices of the Archive Society for the New Jersey Civil War Centennial Commission. Not daring to keep a diary that might fall into enemy hands, McAllister wrote daily to his wife and daughters, providing an intricately detailed description of his wartime ordeal for posterity. Enhanced by James I. Robertson’s scholarly editing, the 637 letters presented here provide a comprehensive look at the experiences of the Army of the Potomac and one of its more overlooked generals. Due to the usually low nature of university press print runs, copies in premium condition are not easily found. Collectors should expect to pay $50 and up for a choice copy of this title. If you're looking to dig deeper than what the major generals had to say, this obscure soldier's personal letters could be a good and uncommon place to start.

Harry Potter and His Uncle Tom

Interesting comparison: Princeton English professor William Gleason compares the [Potter] series' impact to the frenzy that surrounded Uncle Tom's Cabin before the Civil War. "That book penetrated all levels of society," he says. "It's remarkable how similar the two moments are." Full article here.

Rising abolition sentiment in New England and the controversial Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 helped propel Uncle Tom's Cabin to huge best seller status when published in 1852.

Pictured is the 2-volume first edition currently offered at $15,000 by Between the Covers booksellers. They describe Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel as "the best-selling novel of the 19th Century, it spawned numerous offshoots and dramatic adaptations, and so polarized the nation over the issue of slavery that, according to legend, upon meeting Stowe, Abraham Lincoln jokingly cited it as the cause of the Civil War. Perhaps not the most famous novel ever written, and certainly not the best, but probably the single novel to exert the greatest direct influence on the course of American and world history."