Notes of a Military Reconnaissance – W. H. Emory – 1848 | First Senate Edition

Notes of a Military Reconnaissance by Lt. Col. William Hemsley Emory is the official report documenting the US Army’s survey during the Mexican-American War. A skilled engineer and trained naturalist, Emory provides a methodical record of the overland journey from Fort Leavenworth to San Diego during the height of American westward expansion. Emory’s survey includes topographical and botanical observations, documenting the landscape of the American Southwest in striking detail. His route through the territory would later shape the 1853 Gadsden Purchase and be used as a popular travel guide for pioneers of the California Gold Rush. Emory’s report also provides early anthropological studies of Native American tribes in the area. The text continues to be an important primary source of US military action during the Mexican-American War, with narratives and maps of the battles of San Pasqual, Rio San Gabriel, and Los Angeles.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Notes of a Military Reconnoissance, from Fort Leavenworth, in Missouri, to San Diego, in California, Including Part of the Arkansas, Del Norte, and Gila Rivers
• Author: William Hemsley Emory
• Publisher: Washington, Wendell and Van Benthuysen
• Edition: First edition, 1848
  • 30^th Congress, 1^st Session. Executive, No. 7
  • Early printing; Emory’s military rank listed as “Lieut. Col.”
  • “December 16, 1847. Read, and ordered to be printed; and that 1,000 copies, in addition to the usual number, be printed for the use of the Senate.”
• Binding: Hardcover; modern rebind in brown cloth
• Format: Octavo (8vo), single volume
• Size: ~ 9.25in x 6in (~23.5 cm x 15.25 cm)
• Collation: 416 pp
• Illustrations: 43 engraved plates (including 3 full-page maps)
  • Wanting folding map
• Contents Include:
  • Observations on flora, fauna, and geology
  • Ethnographic accounts of Native American tribes
  • Topographical route mapping from Fort Leavenworth to San Diego
  • Military commentary from the Mexican-American War
• Provenance: Handwritten signature of [Dr. L. McKraken]
• Reference(s): Graff 1249; Howes E 145; Sabin 22536; Wagner-Camp 148-5; Zamorano Eighty 33

Condition:

Good. Modern brown cloth binding is secure without edgewear. Plates are complete and well preserved. Internal pages exhibit extensive foxing but the pages are still very legible. No major damage to be noted.

Why Collect This?

• Primary military and scientific documentation from the Mexican-American War
• Foundational U.S. expansionist report
• Precursor to the Gadsden Purchase and Gold Rush-era migration
• Listed in the Zamorano Eighty

Item Number: #31155