"This account of the Civil War is wonderfully accurate and him."

"From the day I reported to him from Paducah till his death our relations were as brothers rather than as commander and commanded…” -William Tecumseh Sherman

Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885). The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1885-1886.

2 volumes, 8vo. Engraved portrait frontispieces, numerous facsimile letters (2 folding), maps, and wood engravings. EXCEPTIONALLY RARE ORIGINAL DELUXE TREE CALF.

GENERAL WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN’S PROFUSELY ANNOTATED COPY OF GRANT’S MEMOIRS, WITH ADDITIONAL LAID-IN REMINISCENCE.

FIRST EDITION of Grant’s exceptional memoirs, profusely annotated by his close friend, General William Tecumseh Sherman.

This copy is entirely singular, owned by Grant’s close friend and most esteemed general: William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman evidently read the book in great detail, making marginal notes on at least 18 pages in volume I, several of them signed with his initials. On the last page of volume I, Sherman wrote: “Read at St. Louis Mo. Dec 5 + 6, 1885. / This account of the Civil War is wonderfully accurate and him. W.T.S.". Many of the notes are small corrections and additions by Sherman.

On a passage regarding the Yazoo Pass Expedition on page 435, Sherman pointedly writes: "This conforms literally [to my] memoirs on the point most contested by Grant's pretended friends. W.T.S.". He provides further thoughts regarding political interference on the next page: "If Grant had gone ahead, living off the country, we would have been inside of Vicksburg by Christmas 1862, the distance from Grenada to Vicksburg is little more than the circuit we afterward made from Bruinsberg via Jackson to Vicksburg --- This was my understanding when we parted at Oxford, and the intervening country was better supplied with hay + hominy. W.T.S."

On pp. 440-441, Grant wrote about the need to assign politically-connected John McClernand as Corps Commander: “I would have been glad to put Sherman in command, to give him an opportunity to accomplish what he had failed in the December before; but there seemed no other way out of he difficulty, for he was junior to McClernand. Sherman’s failure needs no apology.” In the margins, Sherman’s distinctive hand writes passionately: "because it was no failure at all."

Volume II contains only one marginal annotation. However, a 2-page note written by General Sherman is laid in between pages 123 and 124, at a section regarding Grant being given full command of the Armies by President Lincoln. General Sherman seems to have added his recollection of Grant's first meeting with Lincoln to supplement Grant's account. While Sherman was not present at the meeting between Grant and Lincoln, he almost certainly heard about what transpired from Grant himself. Sherman's note reads in full:

"Grants Memoirs Vol 2, Page 123 / A good story is very correct. "Si non vero, ben trovalo". [Even if it is not true, it is well conceived]. This is the conversation between Genl. Grant, President Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton at the time he was addressed to command all the Armies of the U.S. [Grant] said in his usual quiet manner "Mr. Lincoln, I am told that several well planned campaigns in Virginia have been marred by interference from Washington, viz from the Secretary of War or the President, now if I am to command I must insist that no military order be issued to any detachment or part of the Army except through me," Mr. Lincoln, in his inimitable way, turning to Stanton said, "Stanton, you and I have been running this machine for two years and have not made a brilliant success. I guess we had better trust this little man" (Grant) and then, then and there, the promise was made. And it is to the credit of Mr. Lincoln to say that he kept his word literally, never interfering, or making any order even when Washington was in real peril from Early's Army in 1865."

This inclusion of Sherman's memory of when Grant was given full military authority by President Lincoln is significant. Grant's insistence that there would be no political interference was likely particularly important to General Sherman, who loathed politicians.

The fine highly polished gilt tree calf binding exhibited by these volumes is exceedingly scarce, with only 3 other known copies. The first prospectus of Grant's "Memoirs" listed only 4 bindings: fine cloth, full sheep, fine half morocco, and full Turkey morocco. A handbill dated 20 July 1885 with the headline "The Book is Finished" was added to later copies of the prospectus. It updates the prospective buyers of the increased amount of content: "600 pages instead of 500, 50 chapters instead of 25, and from 30 to 40 maps instead of 6". The handbill also has the first mention of the rare binding not listed in the original prospectus: "Agents are authorized to take orders for bindings in TREE CALF at $25.00 per set." (Huntington Library, 25479, vol. 1).

Despite it being, presumably, commercially available, only other copy of Grant's memoirs bound in tree calf has sold at auction- a copy presented to Mark Twain by Julia Grant and inscribed by both (Christie's, The Forbes Collection of American Historical Documents, Part V, 2 November 2006, Lot 103). An extensive survey was conducted in the course of cataloging and only two other known copies were located, both in private collections. To date, no copies bound in the tree calf have been traced to institutional collections.

Its scarcity may be in part that Twain’s initial subscription push was so successful that most readers had already ordered their copies in one of the four originally offered bindings. In practice, the binding seems to have been reserved for only the most important presentations. As Grant died before publication was complete, the only copy that he saw before his death was a prospectus bound in cloth (now held at The Huntington Library, 26479, vol. 1), and as such, no author presentation copies exist. The extant tree calf copies suggest that the binding was perhaps reserved exclusively for presentations made by Julia Grant. Even the copies presented by publisher Mark Twain to his friends and colleagues were bound in one of the other available bindings. (C.f. a copy presented by Twain to Frank Mason, US Consulate at Frankfurt, bound in the common publisher’s green cloth, Christie’s, Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts Including Americana, 5-19 October 2023, Lot 268).

Though this copy bears no presentation inscription by Julia Grant, Mark Twain, or anyone else, it is plausible that one of these figures would have sent the copy directly to General Sherman.

A TREASURE OF AMERICAN HISTORY.

After his second presidential term and world tour, Grant was left near penniless when he was swindled by conman Ferdinand Ward. At the same time, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, and became deeply concerned about the financial stability of his wife and family after his death. Grant had forfeited his (and his widow’s) military pension when he resigned as general to assume the presidency, which granted no pension. In this moment of crisis, just as he would have during the war, Sherman rushed to Grant's aid. Sherman assisted Grant in restructuring his debt, ensuring that Grant was able to keep his most prized possesions. Importantly, Sherman also encouraged Grant to do what he should have done years ago- write his memoirs.

By June 1884, Grant had begun publishing articles on his major engagements of the Civil War for "Century Magazine," which paid him $500 for each submission. The articles were received with great enthusiasm, and Grant met with Century Magazine's representatives in early September to arrange for the publication of his memoirs. However, when Samuel Clemens (1835-1910, popularly Mark Twain), learned of the potential arrangement with "Century Magazine," he convinced Grant to sign with his own subscription publishing company, which was able to offer Grant 70% of the net profit made from the sale of his memoirs. This rate was exorbitantly higher than what "Century Magazine" had proposed.

Grant began writing his memoirs in earnest, racing against the illness to finish and secure his family's financial stability. During this time, Grant welcomed Sherman’s repeated visits. On December 24, 1884, Sherman wrote to his wife, Ellen: "Grant says my visits have done him more good than all the doctors.’” (Flood, p.395). Grant, with the moral support of Sherman, lived to finish the memoir, dying five days after its completion. Widely considered the finest military narrative ever published, the memoirs were a national bestseller, and Grant's widow Julia would eventually receive nearly $450,000 (~$14,000,000, today) in royalties from their sale.



References:

Charles Bracelen Flood, Grant and Sherman: The Friendship that Won the Civil War.
Mary Drake McFeely and William S. McFeely, editors. Grant: Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, Selected Letters 1839-1865. Library of America, 1990.
Robert L. O’Connell. Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman.

Condition: Vol. I both boards detached (this may have happened early as the later applied bookplates are affixed upside down); spines detached on both volumes, but present; folding map between pp. 312-313 torn/fully separated.

PROVENANCE:

The Sherman-Fitch Library

Primarily assembled by General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), the collection of books was inherited and curated by his son, Philemon Tecumseh Sherman (1867-1941). Before his death, Philemon transferred the library to his niece, Eleanor Sherman Fitch (1876-1959). Eleanor was the granddaughter of General Sherman through his eldest daughter, Maria "Minnie" Ewing Sherman Fitch (1851-1913). Until now, the Sherman-Fitch library was held at the family estate in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

The library includes a range of diverse material owned by General Sherman that principally relates to the Civil War, American history, and the Sherman family. Many works in the Sherman-Fitch library are historically significant, including General Sherman's annotated copy of Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs, the Sherman family bible, and Barnard's "Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign."

Most examples in the collection are affixed with bookplates that bear both General Sherman's and Philemon's names. In some cases, where General Sherman's ownership was clear, his bookplate was not always affixed. However, books with just Philemon's bookplate were generally acquired after his father's death in 1891. General Sherman’s bookplates were likely added by Philemon after his father’s death. Philemon’s bookplates were placed by Tecumseh Sherman Fitch (1908-1969) after he inherited the library in 1942.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Books, Generals, Memoirs, Presidents, William Tecumseh Sherman, Ephemera, Manuscripts, Letters]