Description
First edition of The Soldier of Indiana in the War for the Union by Catharine Merrill.
Thick octavo, [two volumes], vi, 690pp; [4], 815pp. Rebound in brown cloth, new marbled endpapers. Title in gilt on spines, double gilt-ruled bands. [Binder’s error with author’s name.] Sprinkled edges. No additional printings listed on copyright pages. Solid text blocks, occasional foxing throughout Volume I. Volume I complete with ten plates and four maps, including frontispiece. Volume II complete with seven plates and one map, including frontispiece. One additional map in Volume II. (Sabin 47992) (Sabin 86270) (Nevins I: 130) A scarce example of both first edition volumes in one set.
Catharine Merrill (1824-1900) was an educator who served roughly four years in the Civil War as a nurse in Indiana and Kentucky. Returning from the War, Merrill became the second female university professor in the country when she accepted a position at North Western Christian University (now Butler University). Later in her career, she wrote The Soldier of Indiana in the War for the Union at the request of Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton. The book documented the experiences of soldiers during the war, but was published anonymously to preserve her modesty and maintain focus on the soldiers and their sacrifices.
