David Ramsay. THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 2 vols. (complete). Lexington, KY: Downing and Phillips, 1815. Third American edition. Full period calf (volumes slightly mismatched in color) with gilt ruling and gilt-titled labels on the spines. 8vo; 501; 488pp. Second volume with frontispiece with portrait of George Washington, biographical memoirs of Gen. George Washington, and list of subscribers at the end. Howes R35. (Boards with typical light age wear, with corners rubbed and bumped; vol. I with small wormhole at tail of front joint and small leather loss to head of spine, vol. II bound upside down, with spine creased and wear at ends, joints rubbed with small areas of cracking; writing on endpapers, vol. II lacking rear free endpapers and front free endpapers with wear and losses; pages toned and foxed, with areas of damp staining, and occasional small loss at margin and small stain.)

The lot also includes: Winslow C. Watson, ed. MEN AND TIMES OF THE REVOLUTION; OR, MEMOIRS OF ELKANAH WATSON, INCLUDING JOURNALS OF TRAVELS IN EUROPE AND AMERICA, FROM 1777 TO 1842, WITH HIS CORRESPONDENCE WITH PUBLIC MEN AND REMINISCENCES AND INCIDENTS OF THE REVOLUTION. New York: Dana and Company, 1856. First edition. Blind-stamped purple cloth, blind and gilt-stamped spine, with brown endpapers, in removable protective mylar jacket. 8vo; xvi, [17]-460pp. Howes W167. (Boards with sunning including heavily toned spine, fraying at spine ends, and rubbed corners; light wear to endpapers, pages with foxing and one with red ink mark.)

8 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. each; 9 1/4 x 6 1/4 in.

David Ramsay (1749-1815) was a politician, historian, and doctor. He is perhaps best known for this two-volume set on the American Revolution, a war that he served in as a military surgeon. He spent most of his adult life in Charleston, South Carolina, unfortunately dying there tragically in the streets of the city when he was shot by a patient. While first published in Philadelphia in 1789, this edition of The History of the American Revolution is the rather scarce third American edition, printed in Kentucky the year of the author's death.

Elkanah Watson spent most of his life in Massachusetts and New York, but he also lived for several years in Edenton, North Carolina. His autobiography was composed using the journal entries he wrote throughout his life, and was edited by his son.