The Minute Men of '17. A History of the Service Rendered During the Recent World War by the Ninth Coast Artillery Corps New York Guard and the Veteran Corps of Artillery State of New York. N.p.: Memorial and Property Committee of the Ninth Coast Artillery Corps, 1922. 4to. Original illustrated blue cloth. Map tipped in to interior front board. P. Tecumseh Sherman bookplate. INSCRIBED: "In 1917 P. Tecumseh Sherman was too deaf to become an officer so went in as a private see Page 297." TIPPED IN to front fly leaf is P. Tecumseh's partly printed honorable discharge. New York, New York, 7 October 1919. Undersigned and docketed to verso.

WITH History and List of Officers and Men of the Ninth Coast Artillery N.Y.G. May, 1918. Annotations on p. 8-9.

A fascinating record of Philemon Tecumseh Sherman’s attempt at a military career. Philemon was the youngest son of General William Tecumseh Sherman and did not follow in his father's military footsteps except for this attempt to enlist at the outbreak of World War I. By that time he was, according to the inscription, he was deaf, and nearing 50. Perhaps he felt a need to honor his father and the immense legacy he upheld. There are no other corresponding records of Philemon's enlistment, but he was granted an honorable discharge (included here) in 1919.

Philemon was well-educated, he received a Ph.D. from Yale University and a law degree from Columbia Law School. He was a lawyer in New York, specializing in labor and insurance, and was elected a member of the New York Board of Alderman in the late 1880s. In the early 1900s, he was appointed the New York Commissioner of Labor.

PROVENANCE:

The Sherman-Fitch Library

Primarily assembled by General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), the collection of books was inherited and curated by his son, Philemon Tecumseh Sherman (1867-1941). Before his death, Philemon transferred the library to his niece, Eleanor Sherman Fitch (1876-1959). Eleanor was the granddaughter of General Sherman through his eldest daughter, Maria "Minnie" Ewing Sherman Fitch (1851-1913). Until now, the Sherman-Fitch library was held at the family estate in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

The library includes a range of diverse material owned by General Sherman that principally relates to the Civil War, American history, and the Sherman family. Many works in the Sherman-Fitch library are historically significant, including General Sherman's annotated copy of Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs, the Sherman family bible, and Barnard's "Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign."

Most examples in the collection are affixed with bookplates that bear both General Sherman's and Philemon's names. In some cases, where General Sherman's ownership was clear, his bookplate was not always affixed. However, books with just Philemon's bookplate were generally acquired after his father's death in 1891. General Sherman’s bookplates were likely added by Philemon after his father’s death. Philemon’s bookplates were placed by Tecumseh Sherman Fitch (1908-1969) after he inherited the library in 1942.

[World War I, Documents, Letters, Manuscripts, Letters, Books, Signatures, Politics]