CAVALRY TACTICS, OR REGULATIONS FOR THE INSTRUCTION, FORMATIONS AND MOVEMENTS OF THE CAVALRY OF THE ARMY AND VOLUNTEERS OF THE UNITED STATES.
Cooke, Philip St. George:
Houston: Texas Printing House - E.W. Cave, 1863. Two volumes bound in one: xiv,[2],132;66pp., plus twenty- six plates printed on yellow paper (five folding). 16mo. Original printed stiff-paper wrappers, backed by blue cloth. Wrappers rubbed, chipped, wrinkled and soiled. A few pencil computations on rear free endpaper. Foxing and tanning. Still, a good copy, in original condition. In a paper chemise and cloth slipcase. A Texas and Civil War rarity. This copy bears a pencil inscription on the inside of the front wrapper: "D.F. Boyd, used in Confederate Army 1864." This is the rare Houston edition of the handbook of cavalry tactics that was used by both the Union and Confederate cavalry during the Civil War. It was written by Philip St. George Cooke, initially published in 1861, and then subsequently revised in 1862. The text is very thorough, covering all aspects of cavalry tactics and techniques. Cooke had a long military career, graduating from West Point in 1827, and he participated in the Black Hawk War and the Mexican War. He served as a U.S. Army observer during the Crimean War, and learned much of European cavalry tactics. Cooke was a General in the Union Army during the Civil War, and is considered the father of the American cavalry. Interestingly, Cooke's son-in-law was Confederate Cavalry General J.E.B. Stuart, and Cooke's son, John Rogers Cooke, was a brigade commander in the Army of Northern Virginia. This very rare Houston edition was "published by order of Lt. Gen. E. Kirby Smith, for the use of the cavalry of the Trans-Mississippi Department." Parrish and Willingham locate only four copies, and OCLC adds only one more. No copies appear in auction records over the past thirty years. Very rare and interesting. PARRISH & WILLINGHAM 4780. OCLC 26430115.
(Item ID: WRCAM39660) $8,500.00