77. COOKE, Philip St. George. Scenes and
Adventures in the Army. Philadelphia: Lindsay and
Blakiston, 1859. 432 pp. Small 8vo, original green cloth
with gilt title on spine. Minor wear but fine for this
book. The Littell copy with his bookplate. Laid in is an
autograph letter, signed, from Cooke dated Belmead, Jan.
30,
1860.
Second edition. Pingenot: This issue gives the
author’s rank as colonel, but from the same plates and
otherwise identical to the 1857 printing. Cooke’s
letter, dated Belmead, Jan. 30, 1860, is addressed to Gov.
John Letcher of Virginia. Cooke accepts a state appointment
on a commission authorized by the "Armory bill" because "a
sense of duty to the State prompts me to accept." A
remarkable letter because within a year Cooke would refuse
a generalship in the Army of Northern Virginia and become,
instead, a Union general.
($250-500)