(Civil War Confederate Biography | Lost Cause Ideology | Battle Diagrams)

Life and Campaigns of Stonewall Jackson by Rev. R.L. Dabney is a notable Confederate biography, with this first edition published in 1866. Authored by Jackson’s former chief of staff in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War, this biography was sanctioned by Jackson’s family and references numerous primary documents and firsthand recollections. An important feature of this memoir is its defensive tone, reflecting the Southern Lost Cause ideology. Notably, Dabney, a respected theologian and Virginian clergyman, shaped this work to memorialize Jackson’s leadership and personal piety, with pronounced emphasis on Christian virtue and martial discipline. The volume is enriched with eleven illustrations, including a folding map of the Battle of Chancellorsville. This biography remains a favored title among collectors of Civil War literature for its immediacy following the Civil War and its insider perspective direclty from Jackson’s inner circle.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Life and Campaigns of Lieut.-Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, (Stonewall Jackson.)
• Author: R.L. Dabney
• Publisher: New York: Blelock and Co.
• Edition: First edition, 1866
• Binding: Half leather, marbled boards
• Format: Octavo (8vo), single volume
• Size: ~ 8.25 in x 5.75 in (20.5 cm x 14.5 cm)
• Collation: x, [2], 742, [2]
• Illustrations: 12 illustrations, including frontispiece
  • 10 in-text maps
  • 1 folding map
  • 1 steel-engraved frontispiece portrait
• Contents Include:
  • Parentage and Early Years
  • In Mexico
  • Manassas
  • General View of the Campaigns of 1862
  • The Richmond Campaign
  • Feredericksburg
  • Chancellorsville
  • Death and Burial
• Reference(s): Howes D-2; Nevins II, pg. 50; Sabin 18255

Condition:

Very Good. Bound in original half leather with secure hinges and a tight text block. Mild rubbing to edges and joints with minor scuffing. Moderate browning present throughout, consistent with age, and foxing confined to the preliminaries. Folding map complete and well-preserved. Some underlining and annotations from a previous, engaged reader are present.

Why Collect This?

• First edition, published just one year after the Civil War’s end
• Written by Jackson’s chief of staff with direct access to family documents
• Includes eleven battlefield diagrams and a steel-engraved frontispiece
• Represents Southern memorial publishing and Confederate ideology

Item Number: # 31169