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BOOK DESCRIPTION: 8vo, xiv, 476 pgs., frontis portrait, 3 maps, 33 additional portrait plates, Roll of Honor for the Michigan Brigade (453)-476. Original blue cloth with gilt decorative rider on horse on front cover, gilt titled spine. CONDITION DESCRIPTION: Light rubbing to edges and wear to spine ends and corners, rear corners beginning to show. Minor soiling to cover; gilt bright. Interior with older glue repair to front hinge; very small, closed tear on lower edge of frontis; else interior pages are clean and tight. Overall, a nicely produced and attractive copy with clear mylar wrapper. CONTENTS DESCRIPTION: Original edition of Bvt. Brig. General James Kidd's excellent war memoirs of service in the 6th Michigan Cavalry and the Michigan Cavalry Brigade under George Armstrong Custer. The Michigan Brigade, also known as the Wolverines consisted of the 1st, 5th, 6th, and 7th Michigan Cavalry Regiments. While a student at the University of Michigan, and in the Fall of 1862, Kidd enlisted in the newly formed 6th Michigan Cavalry, and was commissioned Captain. Serving under command of General George A. Custer, the Wolverines gained fame on many battlefields. Kidd, wounded three times in action during his brigade's engagements, was promoted on June 3, 1864, at General Custer's recommendation, to Colonel and placed in command of the 6th Michigan Cavalry. In December 1864, he led the regiment in raids on the Shenandoah Valley destroying millions of dollars' worth of Confederate property. For gallant and meritorious services, he was brevetted Brigadier General on June 15, 1865. He mustered out of service on November 7, 1865, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas after having some Indian war fighting experience. Following the war, Kidd returned to his hometown of Ionia, Michigan and became involved in journalism, eventually publishing his own newspaper. He was active in veterans' affairs and was a frequent contributor to their organizations as a speaker and writer. This, his wartime recollections published in his lifetime, remains a classic narrative of service in the cavalry under Custer and Sheridan. Long considered one of the best Civil War accounts, this original, first edition is a fine accounting by this famous cavalry regimental commander. Republished many times, this original 1908 edition is scarce and not often offered for sale. This copy out of an excellent Texas collection, is quite attractive. REFERENCES: DORN Mich 29; COULTER 278: "At the outbreak of the war, Kidd was a student at the University of Michigan. In the fall of 1862, he joined the Federal forces and, except for the Gettysburg campaign, operated in the regions of Northern Virginia and as far south as Yellow Tavern. His recollections, based on memory, secondary accounts and official documents, were written at various times from 1886 to 1908, and are mostly about military affairs, with very little travel interest."; NEVINS I pg 117: "The author penned his recollections near the turn of the century and relied on a large variety of sources; nevertheless, this remains a basic source for Federal cavalry operations in the East." MULLINS/REED #230.
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