The Adventures Of Ebenezer Fox In The Revolutionary War

New York: Charles Fox, 1847. Reprint Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 24mo 5" - 6" tall. Particularly lovely condition exemplar of an early reprint of the 1837 true First Edition. Beautifully rebound in a creamy brown leather, gilt ruling to spine, gilt title over black leather label at spine. New endpapers. Moderate toning to text-block. All in, a sweet, tightly bound, and highly usable copy. Fine black-and-white engraved portrait of Ebenezer Fox i 1838 at age 75 at frontis. A bit of foxing to endpapers, else dissipating. "Elegant Engravings" throughout. Includes prior to the Preface, a facsimile of a letter to Charles Fox (the author's son) from Jared Sparks (May 10, 1789 - March 14, 1866) in 1847, the latter having been an American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister. He served as the 17th President of Harvard University from 1849 to 1853. From D. Gordon's homage to Mr. Fox, "As Ebenezer Fox neared the end of his life, he felt compelled to produce a manuscript of his experience as a young patriot during the Revolutionary War “with the hope that it may prove as interesting to the raising generation, as it has to my own grandchildren.” His autobiography, written in 1838 when he was 75 years old, recounts his experience growing up in Massachusetts and later leaving home as a teenager seeking adventure and an experience out at sea. Fox first worked as a cabin boy aboard a vessel traveling to the French colony of St. Domingue (today’s Haiti) and then returned to the colonies to work as an apprentice for a wigmaker and barber in Boston.After a brief stint as a replacement soldier during the early years of the war, the 17-year-old Fox joined the American navy in 1780 as a sailor battling British fighting vessels along the Atlantic coast. For the next three years, Fox experienced both the exhilarating glories of winning sea battles and the deep despondency of being a war prisoner. Throughout his perilous adventures at sea, Fox maintained his conviction in the pursuit of liberty and a sense of optimistic perseverance, no matter how precarious his situation was. The excerpts below are taken from Fox’s autobiographical manuscripts. The first section recounts his recruitment process and the general atmosphere in the colonies during the midst of the Revolutionary War in 1780. The second section details Fox’s experience as a prisoner of war just a few months after he first joined the colonial navy." 240 pp. plus a bookbinder's ad at end.Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. Additional postage may be required for oversize or especially heavy volumes, and for sets.