The Diary of James T. Ayers: Civil War Recruiter.

Springfield: Illinois State Historical Society, 1947. Hardcover. Edited by John Hope Franklin. Small 4to. Grey pictorial cloth. xxv, 138pp. Frontispiece. Near fine. Item #30091

First edition, tight and handsome, of this "Occasional Publication" of the ISHL -- issued without dust jacket. Rather uncommon -- the second publication by the late great scholar Franklin (1915-2009). James I. Robertson Jr. reviewed it harshly: "A rambling, disjointed diary by an elderly anti-slaveryite who served in the 129th Illinois and as a recruiter for Negro units; the narrative spans only the last eighteen months of the war in the West." NEVINS I, 53.

Price: $45.00

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