141 pp. Illustrated from photographs, drawings, etc.; tipped-in frontispiece. 9x6¾, flexible fabricoid stamped in gilt and blind. First Edition.
The scarcest of all the regimental histories, being the story of the famed "Buffalo Soldiers," a regiment of black soldiers organized in 1866, serving with much distinction on the frontier in the 19th and early 20th century, fighting Indians in Montana, Texas, and Arizona, pursuing Pancho Villa's men in Mexico, fending off mosquitoes in Cuba. It is from his service with the regiment that John J. Pershing earned his nickname "Black Jack." This copy formerly belonged to Congressional Medal of Honor winner Cornelius C. Smith, with his ink ownership signature on the front flyleaf. Also, there is an autographed letter, signed by Smith, to the Secretary of the Interior, 1934; a partial letter from Brig. Gen. Thomas Cruse to Smith, regarding Indian fights in 1861 and 1881; photocopies of letters from Cruse and Lt. Gen. Tasker Bliss to Smith; a letter of transmittal from Cornelius C. Smith, Jr., transmitting the letters; a copy of "Don't Settle for Second: Live and Times of Cornelius C. Smith," by Smith, Jr.; 4 cartes-de-visite and 1 slightly larger photograph, being 2 portraits of Gilbert Cole Smith (1 from 1862), 1 of Winfield Scott, 1 of Capt. E.C. Ledyard, and 1 of a Capt. Bale. Cornelius C. Smith, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1891 for gallantry in action against the Sioux Indians, served with the Tenth at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, 1918-1919, his third tour of duty.
Condition:
Some rubbing to the spine and extremities; endpapers brittle, front endpaper reattached, a little soiling within, very good or a bit better, quite rare, with fine association.