December 10-13, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2024
LALLEMAND, HENRI DOMINIQUE (1777-1826. "A Treatise on Artillery: to which is added, a Summary of Military Reconnoitring, of Fortification, of the Attack and Defence of Places, and of Castrametation." Translated by James Renwick. 1st. edition. 2 vols. Published by C. S. Van Winkle, New York, 1820. Mismatched bindings. Vol. I: Modern green cloth binding [4], viii, [9]-391, 10 lg. folding plates; Vol. II: original printers’ boards with spine label, title page inscribed in ink: ‘Wm. McNeill’ [of 1st US Artillery]. 368 pp. w/ 8 lg. folding plates. Both 8vo (9 x 5 in.), pages untrimmed, some foxing and toning, but otherwise very good. Scarce work, only 4 copies listed in OCLC. Lallemand was a skilled Napoleonic officer who had significant influence on the development of artillery systems and practices in the United States, his adopted home after seeking exile following Napoleon’s 1815 defeat. After study at the Ecole Polytechnique, he became an artillery officer, distinguishing himself in combat in numerous campaigns: Egypt, Germany, Spain, Russia and ultimately, Waterloo. Henri did not accompany his fiery older brother, Baron Charles to establish "Champ d’Asile" on Galveston Island, but was keenly involved in planning and equipping the ill-fated expedition. His much younger wife Henriette was the niece of America’s richest man, Stephen Girard. From 1818, Henri occupied himself with writing his Treatise on Artillery, which War Secretary John C. Calhoun helped him publish in 1820. The following year the US army adopted the treatise as its standard manual and it remained so for more than a decade. When the Marquis de Lafayette visited the United States in 1824, he was surprised to see artillerists near Boston using French field artillery of the Gribeauval system and drilling in the French manner.