Volunteers' Camp and Field Book containing Useful and General Information on the Art and Science of War for the Leisure Moments of the Soldier.
New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1861. First edition. A manual for soldiers who went off to fight in the Civil War. Curry's "Volunteers' Camp and Field Book" was popular in both the North and South, published in NY in 1861 and in Richmond in 1862. The volume is full of useful information, tips, and 'tricks of the trade', although there is some questions on whether Curry himself actually served, despite claiming to have done so, leading readers to only guess at how the author obtained his body of knowledge.
Curry's field book covers basic definitions and army regulations to personal advice, all written in an easygoing style. Military information includes entrenchments, equipment, tactics in the infantry, artillery, and cavalry arms; uniforms, saluting, medical treatments, camp organization, duties, inspections, health maintenance and cooking.
12mo ( x), (ii), 146pp, a crescent shaped waterstain in the margin of the last 20pp, hinges strengthened. Publisher's brown pebbled cloth, sympathetically rebacked. 8 copies on OCLC: 58888478, but rare in the trade. Item #25952
Price: $750.00