AN ELEMENTARY COURSE OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, FOR THE USE OF CADETS OF THE UNITED STATES' MILITARY ACADEMY

Mahan, Dennis Hart

Published by John Wiley, New York, 1860

8,401pp. plus [5]pp. of ads, including in- text illustrations. Publishers' blindstamped pebbled cloth, spine gilt. Some wear to extremities. Contemporary ink inscription and ink stamp on front free endpaper (see below). Occasional pencil annotations and corrections throughout. Small gouge to lower margin of pp.67-68 (no text affected), light tanning and foxing throughout. Very good. Major Philip J. Kearny's copy of Mahan's influential text on civil engineering, inscribed by Kearny on the front free endpaper: "Philip J. Kearny, New Orleans 1860." According to his obituary in the PATERSON GUARDIAN (August 12, 1863), Kearny (1841-63) was the cousin and namesake of Union General Philip Kearny, and had been on "engineering service in Mexico when the rebellion broke out." He returned to the U.S. and was commissioned captain of Company A, 11th New Jersey Infantry on May 27, 1862. He was promoted to major in May 1863, and was severely wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, as were a number of other soldiers from the New Jersey 11th. Kearny was transported to St. Luke's Hospital in New York, where he subsequently died of his wounds on August 9, 1863. George H. Kearny was Philip's brother and sole heir; his stamp appears below Philip's inscription. The "sixth edition, with large addenda and many new cuts" of Mahan's influential treatise on civil engineering. Dennis Hart Mahan (1802-71), noted military theorist and father of naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, was a professor at West Point for more than forty-five years. During Mahan's time at West Point about two thousand cadets graduated, and every student took Mahan's course on field operations, fortifications, and leadership during his final year at the academy. Mahan published his first book in 1836 as a textbook for this course (A TREATISE ON FIELD FORTIFICATION.), which was "carried into the field by United States officers in both the Mexican and Civil wars" (DAB). He continued revising and expanding, along with writing other texts, including the present work (first published in 1837), all designed to allow his students to carry their coursework onto the battlefield. Mahan was a proud Virginian, but he did not support the Confederacy. He corresponded with numerous generals during the war, stressing loyalty to West Point, the army, and the nation, as well as the need for military professionalism during times of war. An interesting association copy of an important military manual. OCLC 8864513. DAB XII, pp.209-10. Seller Inventory # WRCAM55905

Bibliographic Details

Title: AN ELEMENTARY COURSE OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, ...
Publisher: John Wiley, New York
Publication Date: 1860