754 pp,, blank leaf, 80-page publisher's catalogue dated July 1859. (8vo) 25.5x15.5 cm (10x6"), modern half leather & cloth, contrasting leather spine label; bound at the Trappist Abbey Bookbindery, Lafayette, Oregon. First American Edition.
The first American edition of Henry Gray's seminal and oft-published anatomy, with exceptional Civil War Confederate provenance, presented by a captain in the 28th Louisiana Infantry to a member of his company's medical staff, shortly before the significant, and bloody, Battle of Fort Bisland. The pencil inscription on the half-title reads "Presented to A.C. Simmons by Capt. M.O. Cheatam, March 21, 1863, Camp Bisland," with Camp Bisland repeated again lower down on the page. Captain Marcus O. Cheatam, CSA, was the commander of Company D, comprised primarily of soldiers from Claiborne Parish, and known as "Claiborne's Invincibles." A.C. Simmons is listed on the muster roll of Gray's 28th Louisiana Infantry without rank, but with the note, "Remarks: Detailed apothecary in Alexandria Hospl." It may be presumed that he assisted or acted as surgeon of the company, and the text was given to him to assist in the task. It would be needed soon after being presented. On April 9th, 1863, forces under Union General Nathaniel P. Banks moved towards Fort Bisland, where the 28th infantry was stationed. By April 13 fighting had begun in earnest, and though the Confederates had initial success, they soon found themselves outflanked, and were forced to abandon the fort, opening up the Bayou Teche area to Union forces. The present copy has what appears to be consistent with blood stains to pages 318 and 319 (discussing carotid arteries), which may possibly have been the result of battlefield use. It also has a number of the illustrations neatly hand colored, mostly the circulatory system, in red or blue. There is an ink ownership signature on the title page of J.B. Howell, Charity Hospital, New Orleans, and on the final blank leaf, a pencil ownership signature of J.A. Morison(?), M.D., Arcadia, La., March 16, 1891.