Leaves from the Battle-field of Gettysburg 1864 Souder Civil War Letters Poems For Sale

Leaves from the Battle-field of Gettysburg: A Series of Letters from a Field Hospital, and National Poems
By Mrs. Edmund A. Souder. Philadelphia: Caxton Press of C. Sherman, Son & Co., 1864.

Published less than a year after the battle, this is Emily Bliss Souder's firsthand account of volunteering among the wounded in July 1863. The letters, written from the rail junctions and field hospitals around Gettysburg, include several addressed to her husband. The book opens with an introductory letter signed "A Loyal Woman," dated Philadelphia, April 21, 1864. The second half is a section of patriotic "National Poems." Titles include "A Tribute to Captain Worden," "An Apostrophe to Traitors," "The Pilgrimage to Gettysburg," and "Our Flag on Round Top." The book closes with an account of the consecration ceremonies at Gettysburg Cemetery. 144 pages with an engraved frontispiece plate.

Provenance: The front pastedown carries the label of the Collection of The Historical Association of Gettysburg College, inscribed "Presented by the Slaybaugh Family," No. 343, Copy No. 1, received 10/16/39. The front free endpaper is signed in ink "Rev. G. H. Slaybaugh." There are old pencil and call-number notations in the front matter.

Condition: Original brown blind-stamped cloth with an embossed border. The spine is rubbed and toned, with chipping at the head and tail. The front free endpaper has a torn edge along the gutter. The text pages are toned but clean in the photos. The frontispiece plate is present. See all photos for the full condition.

From the Chapter & Vintage collection — old things, new chapters.

Carefully packed and shipped with full insurance.