ALEXANDER, Charles. Battles and Victories of Allen Allensworth. Boston: Sherman, French & Company, 1914. 8vo (140 x 203 mm). Tissue-guarded frontispiece. (Pages evenly toned.) Burgundy cloth with gilt titles and chain device. (Wear to extremities, toning and discoloration to binding.) FIRST EDITION. Though the title suggests a military history, this biography of Allen Allensworth details the full breadth of his remarkable life, suggesting his battles and victories were both literal and metaphoric. Allen Allensworth (1842-1914) was a remarkable Union soldier, Baptist minister, politician, and California pioneer. Born into slavery in Louisville, Kentucky, he endured a difficult childhood, separated from his family and sold downriver to the Deep South. Despite this, he was motivated to educate himself and managed to do so. During the Civil War, he escaped and served as a civilian nurse with the 44th Illinois Volunteer Infantry and later enlisted with the US Navy. After the war, he dabbled in politics serving as the first and only black representative to the Republican National Conventions in 1880 and 1884. He also became a Baptist minister and secured an appointment as a military chaplain to the Buffalo Soldiers with the 24th Infantry Regiment, only the second black chaplain in the military. He served for 20 years and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel, the first African American to do so. In 1908, after his retirement two years earlier, he founded Allensworth, California, for which he is best remembered. The race colony is the only town in the state to be founded, financed and governed entirely by African Americans. Although drought and tainted water eventually caused residents to relocate, the town is maintained as the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. Condition: Toning and discoloration to binding with wear to extremities, and light staining. Evenly toned pages.
ALEXANDER, Charles. Battles and Victories of Allen Allensworth. Boston: Sherman, French & Company, 1914. 8vo (140 x 203 mm). Tissue-guarded frontispiece. (Pages evenly toned.) Burgundy cloth with gilt titles and chain device. (Wear to extremities, toning and discoloration to binding.) FIRST EDITION. Though the title suggests a military history, this biography of Allen Allensworth details the full breadth of his remarkable life, suggesting his battles and victories were both literal and metaphoric. Allen Allensworth (1842-1914) was a remarkable Union soldier, Baptist minister, politician, and California pioneer. Born into slavery in Louisville, Kentucky, he endured a difficult childhood, separated from his family and sold downriver to the Deep South. Despite this, he was motivated to educate himself and managed to do so. During the Civil War, he escaped and served as a civilian nurse with the 44th Illinois Volunteer Infantry and later enlisted with the US Navy. After the war, he dabbled in politics serving as the first and only black representative to the Republican National Conventions in 1880 and 1884. He also became a Baptist minister and secured an appointment as a military chaplain to the Buffalo Soldiers with the 24th Infantry Regiment, only the second black chaplain in the military. He served for 20 years and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel, the first African American to do so. In 1908, after his retirement two years earlier, he founded Allensworth, California, for which he is best remembered. The race colony is the only town in the state to be founded, financed and governed entirely by African Americans. Although drought and tainted water eventually caused residents to relocate, the town is maintained as the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. Condition: Toning and discoloration to binding with wear to extremities, and light staining. Evenly toned pages.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
