[Burns, Jeremiah]:

$850 · Offered by William Reese Company

THE PATRIOT'S OFFERING; OR, THE LIFE, SERVICES, AND MILITARY CAREER OF THE NOBLE TRIO, ELLSWORTH, LYON, AND BAKER. An early Civil War book eulogizing three of the first conspicuous casualties of the conflict (Ellsworth, Lyon, and Baker, two of whom were personal friends of Abraham Lincoln), aimed at promoting patriotism and the Union cause. The author, Jeremiah Burns, makes his intentions entirely clear in his preface:"Language is, indeed, inadequate to portray their worth, describe their merits, or do honor to their patriot sacrifices....May every soldier that follows us through this little volume...find in [the noble trio]'s fall a noble inducement to press forward in the great struggle for which they have enlisted, until such noble blood has been avenged, and the Starry banner planted in triumph over the blackened ruins of treason!"In pursuit of this goal, Burns provides a portrait and brief background of each figure along with somewhat more details on their military service and ultimate heroic sacrifice. Interestingly, he also spends several pages in each section discussing the aftermath of each soldier's death, including the return of their remains, public services, and eulogies, and prints excerpts from their own letters and speeches as well as those occasioned by their deaths (including "Lines on the Death of Col. Baker," written by an eleven-year-old Willie Lincoln). The appendix also reprints Lincoln's proclamations of April 15 and May 3, 1861, calling on state milit

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