1865 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN. HIs Personal Copy of Earliest Full Biography after Civil War.

An exceptional item, being General William Tecumseh Sherman's personal copy of the first edition publication of the earliest contemporary biography published after the Civil War's end, a status it shares with Sherman and His Campaigns: A Military Biography. It is not clear which one technically hit the shelves first.  Written by Reverend Faunt LeRoy Senour, the work was rushed to press in Chicago immediately at the close of hostilities in 1865. The text offers a crucial real-time historical record and defense of Sherman and his highly polarizing "total war" strategies, specifically the Atlanta Campaign and his March to the Sea, and a record of how they were interpreted, justified, and celebrated by the Union public at the exact moment the war ended. As an additional item of interest, the volume itself was published in Chicago just before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Remaining copies are generally scarce and desirable as "Ante-Fire Imprints."  The present is inscribed by Senour to General Sherman, contains Sherman's bookplate, the bookplate of his son, and a tipped in signature of the W. T.'s son. By descent through the family.   Senour, Rev. F. Major General William T. Sherman. Chicago. Henry M. Sherwood. 1865. First Edition. 477pp. Good + to very good, attractive with two sections of the spine cover relaid and some light chipping. Textually very good with one gathering forward in the binding and a bit folded at the foredge. Solid and crisp.