Memoirs of Gen. W.T. Sherman, Written by Himself, Fourth Edition in Shoulder Strap Binding, Two Volume Set, 1892

Sherman, William Tecumseh. Memoirs of Gen. W. T. Sherman, Written by Himself, With an Appendix, Bringing His Life Down to its Closing Scenes, Also a Personal Tribute and Critique of the Memoirs by Hon. James G. Blaine. New York: Charles L. Webster & Co., 1892. Fourth Edition, Revised, Corrected, and Complete. Two-Volumes. In publisher’s green cloth, with gilt titles to front boards, four-star shoulder strap motif and gilt titles to spines, rebacked saving spines. Illustrated with plates and maps. With a new archival slipcase to hold both volumes. 

This two-volume set of William T. Sherman’s Memoirs is the fourth edition and part of the celebrated “shoulder strap” edition set. Published by Mark Twain’s publishing company, Charles L. Webster, several Civil War Union memoirs were bound in the same style to create the “shoulder strap” edition. The binding is dark green cloth with gilt titles to front boards, and 4-star gilt shoulder-strap motif and gilt titles to the spine. The volumes have been rebacked, saving the original spines. This highly regarded fourth edition incorporates corrections and revisions by Sherman, a concluding chapter on Sherman’s final illness and death, and a personal tribute by Congressman James G. Blaine. The two-volume set includes fifteen folding maps and handsome steel-engraved portraits.

Ten years after the end of the Civil War, Sherman became the first General to publish his memoirs of that period. He began writing his account in 1872 and the two volumes were first published by D. Appleton and Company in the spring of 1875. According to the publisher’s original prospectus, the two volume set was originally offered in four different bindings, including fine blue cloth, green cloth, full sheepskin, and half blue moroccan leather. 

Sherman explained his motivations for writing in the preface of Volume I: “Nearly ten years have passed since the close of the civil war in America, and yet no satisfactory history thereof is accessible to the public;…. What is now offered is not designed as a history of the war, or even as a complete account of all the incidents in which the writer bore a part, but merely his recollection of events, corrected by a reference to his own memoranda, which may assist the future historian when he comes to describe the whole, and account for the motives and reasons which influenced some of the actors in the grand drama of war.” 

His two volume account touches briefly on his early life, including his time at West Point, his life in and out of the army in Florida, California, New York, Kansas, and Louisiana. Yet the bulk of the writing is focused on the Civil War. “Penned with intelligence and passion,” his memoir provides firsthand accounts of Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, the infamous Atlanta campaign, and his march to the sea through Georgia and the Carolinas. “The memoirs frankly describe the rights and wrongs of the Civil War campaigns Sherman experienced, without regard to stepping on the feelings of others. The work is not unduly harsh, but is unwaveringly honest (as the author viewed these events)… The writing in this work is enjoyable, more so than the average soldier's memoirs, and the enlightened opinions of the second-ranking Federal officer on a multitude of operations make the work invaluable" (Eicher 576).

CONDITION:

Very good+ condition. First Edition. Two Volumes. In green cloth boards, with gilt titles to front, 4-star shoulder-strap motif and girl titles to the spines. Rebacked, saving the original spines. Light surface scratches and wear to cloth, minor bumping to corners. Gilt is very bright. Clean and bright interiors, save very minor offsetting from frontispiece illustration to tissue guard and full title page, very occasional foxing marks. All plates and folding maps accounted for. New archival cloth slipcase with inlay, to hold both volumes.

Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.