Item #18167 A Compendium of Military Duty, Adapted for the Militia of the United States. Jonathan Rawson.
A Compendium of Military Duty, Adapted for the Militia of the United States

A Compendium of Military Duty, Adapted for the Militia of the United States

Dover, NH: Eliphalet Ladd, 1793.

First Edition. 8vo, pp ix, [2], 12-240, 251-305, [1] (blank). Original boards (tree calf), nineteenth or early twentieth century rebacking with new leather spine and endpapers. Bookplate of Mann S. Valentine (founder of the Valentine Museum in Richmond, VA) apparently transferred from original front endpaper to the new one. Corners worn, spine scuffed. Ink stamp of the Valentine Museum on title page, otherwise unmarked and clean. Very good. Rawson (1759-1794) was a New Hampshire attorney who served in the Revolutionary War and was later an aid to New Hampshire Governor Gen. John Sullivan. This work consists of extracts from notable authorities on military matters, including Baron von Steuben, the Chevalier de la Valiere, and others. Rawson remarks in the Preface that while practical experience is critical for a true understanding of the art of war, "surely to inform young and inexperienced officers of the duties of a military life cannot be thought a fruitless undertaking--for 'books oftimes give us those influences in private, which we are not always willing to take from other men, for fear of being thought ignorant'--and though our desire of information might overcome our pride, yet we may not always find those who are either capable or willing to give us instruction." The work is divided into three sections, addressing the general duties of different types of soldiers; the "maneouvers and evolutions of the infantry, artillery and cavalry upon the plan laid down for the army of the United States, upon the Prussian system; and "some particular instructions to officers of partizan corps, interspersed with historical facts, anecdotes, etc." Sabin 68016.

Item #18167

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