First Edition of Chamberlain's Scarce Civil War Memoir The Passing of the Armies

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. THE PASSING OF THE ARMIES: AN ACCOUNT OF THE FINAL CAMPAIGN OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, BASED UPON PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE FIFTH ARMY CORPS. New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1915. First edition. Original blue cloth-covered boards, with gilt-stamped spine and gilt top edge. 8vo; xxi, [1], 392pp. With portrait frontispiece and one additional portrait, both with captioned tissue guards, and (3) maps.

8 1/2 x 5 7/8 in.

Allen family armorial bookplate on front paste-down. Laid in loose is the business card of C. Loomis Allen, former Vice President and General Manager of the Syracuse Rapid Transit Railway Company, with what is likely his signature in pencil on the front free endpaper. According to his obituary, Allen was fascinated by the Civil War and an avid reader on the topic.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Maine, 1828-1914) was the 32nd Governor of Maine, a former Bowdoin College president, and he rose to the rank of Brigadier General while fighting in the Union Army during the Civil War. He famously fought at the Battle of Gettysburg and won a Medal of Honor, and his heroism was later recounted in popular culture in the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (1974) and its movie adaptation Gettysburg (1993). Chamberlain eventually died of complications related to his wartime wounds in 1914, just one year before the publication of his memoir. As the biographical note in his book explains, the author died before the book could receive a final revision, however, it was published under the guidance of his children.

The Passing of the Armies is an important memoir of Chamberlain's experiences at the Battle of Five Forks, the Battle of Appomattox, and more, and it provides significant information about the Civil War general: "A gallant soldier, a great citizen, and a good man; the name of Joshua L. Chamberlain will through the years to come find place in the list of distinguished Americans." (p. ix.)

Chamberlain's book is extremely scarce, with only a handful of copies appearing at auction since the 1950s.

Boards lightly scuffed, with minor denting and rubbing to edges, and corners rubbed; spine mildly sunned with light marks, stains, and scuffs, and rubbing and fraying to ends with some separation from text block; rear pastedown with folds, free endpapers with notations and previous owner's name in pencil, front hinge cracking; interior with light toning and occasional pencil writing/marks, light grime, and rare spots of foxing; first tissue guard with small tear; first folding map with some additional folds, a few creases, areas of browning, and small chips and tears at lower edge; minor separation at tail from second map to p. 110; a few pages with mild edge wear including chips and small tears and folds; a couple of areas of mild gutter cracking; about very good/lacking the very rare jacket.