Battles and Victories of Allen Allensworth
Boston: Sherman, French & Company, 1914. 1st ed. Hardcover. frontis (photo of Allensworth), (12), 429p. Original red cloth. 20 cm. Evidence of removal of a small label near the base of the backstrip. Edges and corners lightly rubbed. Spine slightly sloped and covers slightly sprung at top. No jacket. Allensworth, 1842-1914, an African American, was born enslaved in Kentucky. Most of the first half of this book details Allensworth's efforts to survive enslavement. Allensworth finally escaped for good during the Civil War. He subsequently enlisted in the U. S. Navy and mostly served on board the USS Tawah on the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers before his discharge in 1865. He became a Baptist preacher and served churches in Kentucky. He also got interested in politics and served as a delegate from
Kentucky to the Republican National Conventions in 1880 and 1884. An appointment as a chaplain in the U. S. Army was confirmed by the U. S. Senate in 1886. He served in that capacity with the 24th Infantry, one of the four African American regiments during that period, for the next 20 years. By the time Allensworth retired in 1906, he had reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, making him the first African American to reach that rank in the United State Army. Allensworth ia also remembered as the editior and publisher of Alexander's Magazine, a magazine aimed at African Americans which was published from 1904-1909. Politically and philosophically he seems to have been in the BTW camp. He was a founder of Allensworth in 1908. The town, an all Black town in California named after Lt. Colonel Allensworth, had some early success but 1914 was the beginning of the end for the town and was the end for the retired Army Chaplain who . Allensworth ia also remembered as the editior and publisher of Alexander's Magazine, a magazine aimed at African Americans which was published from 1904-1909. was fatally injured when he was run over by a motorcyclist. The Santa Fe Railroad moved its stop from Allensworth to Alspaugh, a nearby white town. The town of Allensworth also began having more and more severe water shortages which seem to have been caused at least partly by a regional water company's failure to drill enough wells to supply the African American town's water needs. Population declined and economic opportunity withered. The state of California created Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park in 1976 on part of the land that had been occupied by the former town. As fo this book, it is quite scarce in commerce although OCLC lists more than three dozen libraries as having a copy. Very Good. Item #93534
Price: $850.00