General William Eaton The Failure of an Idea
first edition
1932 · New York
by Rodd, Francis Rennell
New York: Milton, Balch and Company, 1932. First Edition. First printing Near fine in red buckram cloth covered boards with a gilt on blue title block on the spine and on the front board and with map end papers. In a very good+ dust jacket with the original price on the front flap with moderate soiling on the panels and spine area. A biography of General William Eaton, a native of Woodstock and Mansfield, Connecticut, who was an army officer and appointed to counsel of Tunis in 1798. He was later appointed Navy Agent to the Barbary States in which capacity he lead an incredibly difficult march through the Libyan Desert in an attempt to restore the throne to a deposed Pasha of the country. Leading a ragtag army he was able to secure a seaport town near Tripoli only to be recalled to the United States because of a negotiated settlement with the illegal ruler which called for the payment of a ransom for imprisoned American seamen. Eaton returned to the US humiliated and burning with anger. His efforts to undermine the American treaty with the despot and vindicate his actions only created enemies for Eaton. He retired from government service and died at the age of 47 in Brimfield, Massachusetts. 314 pages including an index, bibliography, text and illustrated with maps and reproductions of contemporary art. (Inventory #: TB17868)