Memoir of Capt. C. Seton Fleming, of the Second Florida Infantry
Item #78800
FLEMING. Francis P. Memoir of Capt. C. Seton Fleming, of the Second Florida Infantry, C.S.A. Illustrative of the History of the Florida Troops in Virginia during the War between the States. With Appendix of the Casualties. Jacksonville: Times-Union Publishing House, 1884. 124,[1]pp., including three portraits. Plus frontispiece. Original limp green cloth, gilt. Insect damage to spine and boards. Text evenly tanned with occasional foxing. Good condition. HOWES F-177, "aa." Dornbusch II, 194. Nevins I, p.89. Servies 7614. Eberstadt 133:437. "A little-known work, important chiefly for personal insights into action late in the war"- Nevins. An inscribed copy of the rare first edition of this obscure account of Confederate Florida troops serving in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War. Charles Seton Fleming (1839-64) was a captain in Company G of the Florida 2nd Infantry. The narrative includes Fleming's service in the Peninsula campaign, and the battles before Richmond, Second Manassas, and Gettysburg. Fleming was wounded and taken prisoner at Williamsburg, Virginia and later exchanged. He returned and was killed at Gaines' Farm, Virginia on July 3, 1864 during the Battle of Cold Harbor. The present work was written by Fleming's brother, who served as governor of Florida from 1889 to 1893. Francis P. Fleming was a racist and remains an infamous figure in Florida history. He fought strenuously against civil rights for African Americans and was a strong supporter of segregation. He famously removed from office Florida's only Black judge, James Dean of Monroe County, whose only crime, according to Fleming, was sanctioning a marriage between a White man and a Black woman. The engraved frontispiece portrait of Captain Seton Fleming is accompanied by three additional engraved portraits in the text, featuring Colonel George T. Ward, Major George W. Call, and General E.A. Perry. Fleming has inscribed the book in pencil on the front free endpaper, "J.W. Nash from his friend & comrade the Author." This was perhaps Lieutenant John Wesley Nash, who served with the 5th Florida Infantry and was captured at Missionary Ridge. Nash provides a further inscription to a family member beneath Fleming's inscription.
Price: $2,000.00