Manual of Bayonet Exercise by George B McClellan

Manual of Bayonet Exercise by George B McClellan - Inventory Number: HIS 192

Inscribed by William A. Rafferty - Enlisted on 1/26/1864 as a Private. On 1/26/1864 he mustered into "L" Co. PA 21st Cavalry. He was Mustered Out on 7/8/1865 at Lynchburg, VA

United States Army. A first edition that was published in Philadelphia in 1852. At this time, McClellan was the Commander-In-Chief of the United States Army.

The forward to the book was written by Winfield Scott, who said, “I strongly recommend its being printed for distribution to the Army; and that it is being made, by regulation, a part of the ‘Systems of Instruction’”. In the preface, McClellan explains how these tactics are primarily based on the teaching of the French fencing instructor M. Gomard, who claimed that, “the bayonet is more formidable than either the lance or the sabre”. The back of the book contains 24 pages of illustrations of the tactics which are being taught.

The author, George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician. A graduate of West Point, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican-American War, and later left the Army to work in railroads until the outbreak of the American Civil War. Early in the war, McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army, which would become the Army of the Potomac. He served a brief period (November 1861 to March 1862) as general-in-chief of the Union Army.

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Inventory Number: HIS 192