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1880 STONEWALL JACKSON VALLEY CAMPAIGNInscribed by William Allan to Jackson Aide James Power SmithWith Apparent Firsthand Corrections to Jackson’s Staff RosterComplete with Four Folding Maps by Jedediah Hotchkiss
ALLAN, William. History of the Campaign of Gen. T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, from November 4, 1861, to June 17, 1862. With maps by Jedediah Hotchkiss. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1880.
First edition. Octavo. 175 pages. Original dark brown publisher’s cloth. Complete with all four folding campaign maps by Confederate cartographer Jedediah Hotchkiss.
An exceptional Civil War association copy, personally inscribed by author William Allan to James Power Smith, one of Stonewall Jackson’s aides-de-camp, and containing pencil additions and corrections to Allan’s printed roster of Jackson’s staff.
The presentation inscription on the front flyleaf reads:
For J. P. Smith
with the kind regards of
the Author —
June 1888 —
The significance of the recipient is considerable. William Allan and James Power Smith both served in Stonewall Jackson’s immediate military circle, and Smith was among the officers associated with Jackson during the Chancellorsville Campaign and the events surrounding the general’s mortal wounding.
This is therefore not simply an author-inscribed copy of an important Jackson history. It is a copy presented by one former member of Jackson’s staff to another.
The Annotations
Of particular interest are pencil additions and corrections to Allan’s printed list of officers attached to Jackson’s staff.
Among the manuscript additions are:
James P. Smith
Joseph G. Morrison
additional aide-de-camp and staff designations
cross-references and corrections to the printed roster
Because the book was presented directly to Smith, because the annotations concern the small headquarters organization in which he personally served, and because one of the additions supplies Smith’s own name, the annotations are plausibly in James Power Smith’s hand.
No formal handwriting authentication has been undertaken, so the attribution is intentionally stated with caution.
If confirmed, the annotations would constitute a firsthand correction and expansion of Allan’s historical record by one of Jackson’s surviving aides.
James Power Smith
James Power Smith entered Confederate service with the Rockbridge Artillery and subsequently became associated with Jackson’s staff.
He was present during Jackson’s final campaign and later became an important participant in preserving the historical memory of Stonewall Jackson and the Army of Northern Virginia. The National Park Service records Smith’s later role in placing historical markers at significant sites connected with Jackson and other Confederate commanders.
By 1914 historian Jennings C. Wise described Smith as the surviving member of Jackson’s staff and acknowledged him as an important source of information on Confederate artillery and Jackson’s command.
The ownership of Allan’s history by Smith is therefore especially appropriate and historically meaningful.
William Allan
William Allan served as lieutenant colonel and chief ordnance officer of the Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. The original 1880 title page itself identifies him in that capacity.
After the war Allan became an educator and military historian and produced several important works relating to Jackson and the Army of Northern Virginia.
His History of the Campaign remains one of the major early studies of Jackson’s celebrated 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
Four Folding Maps by Jedediah Hotchkiss
The volume is complete with all four large folding campaign maps by Jedediah Hotchkiss, Jackson’s celebrated topographical engineer.
Hotchkiss’s intimate knowledge of the Shenandoah Valley’s roads, waterways, mountain gaps, settlements, and terrain made his cartographic work exceptionally valuable to Jackson’s command.
The maps depict campaign routes, battlefield positions, and troop movements, with Confederate and Union information differentiated in color.
All four maps are present in this copy, an important consideration because the folding maps are frequently encountered torn, separated, or incomplete. Your copy retains all four and their colored markings remain strong.
Association Importance
The appeal of this copy lies in the unusually close relationship between:
William Allan — Confederate officer, Jackson staff member, and author
James Power Smith — Jackson aide and presentation recipient
Jedediah Hotchkiss — Jackson’s topographical engineer and cartographer
Allan presented his history directly to Smith in June 1888, only about fifteen months before Allan’s death.
The apparent manuscript corrections then transform the volume from a presentation copy into what may also be a working historical record corrected by one of Jackson’s own staff officers.
A particularly evocative Civil War association copy connecting three men intimately associated with Stonewall Jackson and his command.
Bibliographical Details
Author: William Allan
Title: History of the Campaign of Gen. T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
Publisher: J. B. Lippincott & Co.
Place: Philadelphia
Date: 1880
Edition: First edition
Pagination: 175 pages
Maps: Four folding maps by Jedediah Hotchkiss, complete
Binding: Original publisher’s brown cloth
Association: Inscribed by William Allan to James Power Smith
Inscription date: June 1888
Annotations: Pencil corrections and additions relating to Jackson’s staff, plausibly by Smith
Condition
Very good overall.
Original dark chocolate-brown publisher’s cloth with blind-stamped decoration to the boards and gilt lettering and ornament to the spine.
Moderate rubbing and shelf wear, principally at the corners, joints, and spine extremities. Spine ends softened and lightly frayed, with a small amount of cloth loss at the crown. Gilt remains bright and legible.
Internal paper hinges show areas of splitting, but both boards remain attached and the text block remains firm.
Allan’s presentation inscription to James Power Smith remains clear and legible.
The pencil staff-roster annotations remain intact and have not been strengthened or altered.
Interior with light age toning and scattered foxing, heavier on the endpapers and peripheral leaves.
All four folding Hotchkiss maps are present. Maps show light toning, scattered foxing, minor handling wear, and occasional wear at folds, but remain substantially intact without the extensive splitting or major losses often encountered in copies of this work. Red and blue troop markings remain vivid.
No restoration or formal handwriting authentication is known to have been performed.
Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an essential part of the description.
