Army Letters From An Officer's Wife, 1871-1888

New York: D. Appleton & Co, 1909. First Edition. First printing. Octavo (20cm). Gilt-titled blue cloth with small pictorial device to front board and spine; x,387pp; photographic frontispiece (portrait) and 10 inserted leaves of plates reproducing pen-and-ink illustrations by I.W. Taber; text illus. A pretty copy, straight and tight, with faint evidence of an old glue repair to front hinge (internal).

The author was married to Lt. Col. (U.S. Infantry) Fayette Washington Roe (1850-1916). The text covers the period of Roe's service in the American West, including Colorado and Utah Territories. "While her husband's career has been described (truncated) as 'unremarkable,' Roe continues to be known on the basis of her book for the accurate picture of Army life it painted...Roe's was the first documented use of the name...Buffalo Soldiers" to describe the African-American infantry and cavalrymen in the west [Wikipedia, "Frances M.A. Roe," 7/2022]. HOWES R-403. (Inventory #: 58575)