Description
First edition of History of the Fifty-First Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry by Sergeant Major Wm. R. Hartpence.
Octavo, viii, 405pp. Green cloth, title stamped in gilt on spine, decorative bands stamped in black on front cover. Floral endpapers. Light rubbing to rear cover, solid text block, bright gilt. Complete with frontispiece and 7 full-page illustrations in black and white. Occasional pencil marks, now erased. Previous owner’s name in pencil on front flyleaf. Bookplate of noted American historian Peter Cozzens on front pastedown. Not found in Dornbusch or Nevins. A scarce regimental history.
The 51st Indiana Infantry was under the command of Colonel Abel D. Streight. The regiment saw action in the Battle of Shiloh, the Battle of Stones River, the Second Battle of Franklin, and the Battle of Nashville. For a short time in 1862, the 51st was under the direct command of General James A. Garfield, commander of the 20th Brigade of the Army of the Ohio. The regiment was taken prisoner in May 1863, and the officers were held at Libby Prison in Richmond. There was an exchange the following November, and the regiment was reorganized.
