Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics
FIRST REVISED EDITION, MEMPHIS ISSUE. The 1861 edition was issued in Memphis, Philadelphia and New York; no priority has been established.
Commissioned by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, William Hardee's Light Infantry Tactics modernized American infantry drill, allowing for nimbler, faster-paced battle movements. Though Hardee was a Confederate general, both Confederate and Union armies used Hardee's manual during the Civil War.
This copy bears the ownership inscription of Isaac Howard, a Confederate soldier whose extensive correspondence with his father is an important primary source for military historians of the Civil War. The "Howard Papers" are part of the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Memphis: Hutton & Freligh, 1861. 2 vols in 1, as issued. Octavo, original cloth back boards, original label on front cover, with 58 lithographs (complete). Scattered foxing and soiling throughout; some wear and soiling to upper cover. An extraordinary copy.
Price: $3,500 .