EXTRA ILLUSTRATED GETTYSBURG ACCOUNT PRESENTED BY MAJ. GENERAL ABNER DOUBLEDAY TO HENRY J. HUNT, CHIEF OF ARTILLERY IN THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC.

Abner Doubleday. Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1882.

Large 12mo. Extra illustrated with 70 steel-engraved portraits. Contemporary blue three-quarters morocco with marbled boards, spine with 5 raised and 6 compartments, 2 gilt lettered. 

Half-title INSCRIBED BY HENRY J. HUNT: "Gen Doubleday - Bvt. Maj General USA / Henry J Hunt / Bvt Maj Gen USA". Second half title INSCRIBED BY ABNER DOUBLEDAY: "Abner Doubleday / Bvt Maj Genl. U.S.A. / May 4. 85" alongside ownership inscription and embossed seal of F. Grant von Maquis Schleicher dated 16 April 1951. 

A fine extra-illustrated military history of the Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg presented by General Abner Doubleday to Chief of Artillery Henry Jackson Hunt, both of whom played pivotal roles at Gettysburg. 

Henry Jackson Hunt (1819-1889) was the Chief of Artillery in the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. His tactics were critical at the Battles of Malvern Hill, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. At the Battle of Gettysburg, his strategic placement of 78 guns and judicious use of ammunition contributed significantly to the repulse of Pickett's Charge. 

Abner Doubleday (1819-1893) was a career Army officer who played several significant roles throughout the Civil War, from beginning to close, especially at the Battle of Gettysburg.

He came from a family of veterans: his paternal grandfather and namesake fought in the Revolutionary War; Thomas Donnelly, his maternal grandfather, was a mounted messenger for George Washington at just 14 years old; and his father, Ulysses, was a veteran of the War of 1812. Abner was nominated to the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated 24th in the class of 1842. He was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Artillery, serving in coastal garrisons, the Mexican-American War, and the Seminole Wars. 

By 1861, he was a captain and second in command at Fort Sumter. At the very first battle of the war, he aimed the cannon that fired the first return shot in answer to the Confederate bombardment on 12 April 1861. The next month, Doubleday was promoted to major and given important artillery commands. In the days before Second Bull Run, his first major combat assignment, he made effective command decisions leading his division to effectively cover the Union retreat. He was wounded at South Mountain and again at Antietam, where he led his men into the bloody Cornfield and West Woods. Described as a "gallant officer...remarkably cool and at the very front of battle," he was promoted continuously, rising to the rank of major general of volunteers from 29 November 1862. 

Doubleday saw his finest hour at the Battle of Gettysburg. His division was the second infantry division on the field to reinforce the cavalry division of Brig. Gen. John Buford. The commander of the I Corps, Major General John F. Reynolds, was killed in action very early, and Doubleday found himself in command of the corps at 10:50 a.m. on the first day. He led his 9,500 men to a heroic defense against an overwhelming Confederate force of 16,000 massed against them. Despite the unequal numbers, Doubleday's men inflicted casualties ranging from 35% to 50% on seven of the Confederate brigades. 

The Union line eventually broke, and Doubleday led his men through the town to the relative safety of Cemetery Hill. The next day, Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George Meade replaced Doubleday with the more junior Maj. Gen. John Newton, based on a false report from Gen. Howard that Doubleday's corps broke first. The snub bred animosity between the two officers for decades to come. 

Doubleday is also widely remembered as the inventor of baseball, though he did not claim the title himself. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in his hometown of Cooperstown in 1937. 

An important presentation copy between two heroes of Gettysburg. 

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