A Soldier's Honor, By His Comrades

New York: The Abbey Press, 1902. First Edition. First Printing. Octavo. 20cm. Bound in 20th century grey cloth by Meister and Smethie, titled in black to spine and front board. 369pp. The later cloth binding is strong and functional, clearly following the brief of holding the book together for a century without too much attention to aesthetics, some light scuffing and edgewear, perhaps a little discolouration here and there, but constructed of the kind of book cloth that will outlast an earthquake. A very good copy by virtue of completeness and solidity. Internally clean, albeit with a rather brutal stitching job to the text block which has resulted in the prelims being a little loose in the gutter. Inscribed in pencil to the front flyleaf by the editor, who was also the bereaved sister of the book's subject, Major General Earl Van Dorn of the Confederate Army:
"From 'Aunt Emily' Vandorn, to Constance Kearny Vertner"
Constance Kearny Vertner's pencil ownership is also present on the front flyleaf, she was indeed Emily's niece, being the daughter of her elder sister Jane, who married Senator John Vertner of Lexington, Kentucky, which is quite the collection of Southern aristocracy.
The book itself was an attempt by Emily Van Dorn to salvage something of the reputation of her dead brother after his death at the hands of a man whose wife, (and possibly 15 year old daughter, rumours abound), he was said to be having an affair with. On the face of it Major General Van Dorn was an extremely gifted cavalry commander (and a less gifted infantry officer) who cut his teeth fighting the Cheyenne in the US Army, and later ended up fighting the US Army, distinguishing himself at 2nd Corinth, the Raid on Holly Ridge, and other engagements. The General's reputation for womanising however, and his erratic military performance when commanding anything other than his beloved cavalry, caused him to be a dangerous combination of lauded and highly suspect, depending upon who you asked. His eventual death, shot in the back of the head by Dr. George Peters of Tennessee, was met with sadness and censure, but little surprise. The customary thing to do at the time regarding a man killed whilst committing adultery was to express public disdain and condemnation, whilst keeping one's true feelings private. Emily Van Dorn's published attempts at salvage made it quite clear that whilst his contemporaries and colleagues might have tutted in public, the sympathies and memories they expressed to her and her family suggested otherwise. There was also the added suggestion that Dr. Peters acted on behalf of the Union, and that he received a mysterious and substantial land grant in Arkansas in payment. Emily Van Dorn perhaps unsurprisingly, held to this version of events. A scarce book in any condition, and even more so with a family association.