A group of three works related to the Western frontier from the personal library of General William Tecumseh Sherman, each with the "W.T. Sherman" and "P. Tecumseh Sherman" bookplates.

Hubert Howe Bancroft. History of the Life of William Gilpin A Character Study. San Francisco, California: The History Company, 1889. 8vo. Original cloth. First edition. WITH INSCRIBED CALLING CARD FROM WILLIAM A. BELL: "[Mr. William A. Bell] who is in Denver for the day requests to know if Dr. Bell & Herself may expect to received General Sherman this evening at Briarhurst, Manitou." Original cloth.

Laid in this book is a calling card from William A. Bell, a renowned photographer of the American west and co-founder of several Colorado settlements including Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs at the foot of Pike's Peak. Here, Bell notes that he is in Denver and extends an invitation to General Sherman to Briarhurst, his manor home in Manitou Springs. This calling card was delivered almost certainly when William Tecumseh Sherman delivered an Independence Day address to the citizens of Denver in 1889. In the speech, he emphasized the importance of Union victory during the Civil War which allowed for anyone to be free to take advantage of the western frontier. (Cecily N. Zander. "Reflecting on the Civil War and Colorado's Purple Mountain Majesties." The Denver Post, 30 June 2017). The General's reading for his Colorado trip was appropriate - William Gilpin (1813-1894) was an American explorer and land speculator who strongly believed in manifest destiny. He accompanied John C. Frémont on his second expedition, was instrumental in the foundation of Oregon Territory government, and was the first governor of the Colorado Territory.

WITH DeWitt C. Peters. The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains. New York: W.R.C. Clark & Co., 1859. Original illustrated brown cloth gilt. Second edition. Field 1207; Sabin 61190.

According to his memoir, Sherman had the opportunity to meet Kit Carson while he was stationed in Monterey, California in 1847: ”I will remember the first overland mail. It was brought by Kit Carson in saddle-bags from Taos in New Mexico...His fame then was at its height, from the publication of Fremont's books, and I was very anxious to see a man who had achieved such feats of daring among the wild animals of the Rocky Mountains, and still wilder Indians of the Plains. At last his arrival was reported at the tavern at Monterey, and I hurried to hunt him up. I cannot express my surprise at beholding a small, stoop-shouldered man, with reddish hair, freckled face, soft blue eyes, and nothing to indicate extraordinary courage or daring." (Sherman, Personal Memoirs, 1890, Vol. I, ppl 74-75)

ALSO WITH George F. Price, compiler. Across the Continent with the Fifth Cavalry. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1883. Illustrated red cloth gilt. First edition. Howes P-582. INSCRIBED BY THE COMPILER TO THE GENERAL on the front free endpaper: "General W.T. Sherman U.S. Army. With the compliments of the compiler. N.Y. City Nov. 27/83".

Condition: Peters, spine missing, front board mostly detached.

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, Western Expansion, Kit Carson, Wild West, Colorado, Manitou, Manitou Springs, Books, Ephemera, Signatures]