New York: Charles T. Evans, 1862. 24pp. Original printed wrappers (rear wrapper lacking), sewn. Front wrapper chipped, a bit stained, and toned. Text evenly toned, but internally clean. Good condition. Item #12777

A brief but important survey of the involvement of Black troops, both free and enslaved, in the War of Independence. Moore, at this time serving as Librarian of the New York Historical Society, drafted these remarks in July, 1862 -- a time of intense debate in Congress over the Militia Act, which had been introduced that month to address the Union's rapidly intensifying need for additional troops. While there was no serious debate over the north's need for military reinforcements, the fight over whether Americans  of African descent should be allowed into service was a highly contentious one, with many lawmakers from border states opposing the measure on obviously racist grounds.

Moore's essay makes no direct mention of the controversy, but given the timing its message is clear enough: the precedent for African-American troops had been well established a hundred years earlier, and questions over "suitability for service" were not only the same in 1862 as they had been in 1776, but they had been put to rest by the facts of history. Moore concludes: "It requires little ingenuity to invent historical parallels -- not very profound research to find historical precedents -- but it is the highest wisdom to know how to apply the lessons of the past."  Abundant in institutional collections (though many OCLC holdings appear to be digital surrogates mis-identified as physical copies), but scarce in commerce, with only a single copy traced at auction or in dealer catalogs this century.

Sabin 50379.

Price: $1,500