BERNARD LILE; AN HISTORICAL ROMANCE, EMBRACING THE PERIODS OF THE TEXAS REVOLUTION, AND THE MEXICAN WAR.

Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1856. xii,287pp. Original embossed cloth. First edition. Externally, the spine and bottom quarter of the front cover are faded with an additional small semicircular area of fading to the front cover, generally, good+. Internally, the pages, for the most part, are clean, bright, and free from foxing, overall, very good. Dobie, Life & Literature… p. 40: “A ‘bully’ good yarn revealing much of actuality.” Jeremiah Clemens was born on December 20, 1814, in Huntsville, Alabama, studied law, and was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1838.  In 1841, Clemens left office to raise a company of volunteers to fight against Mexican encroachment into Texas. In 1847, he again departed to Texas to fight in the Mexican War attaining the rank of Colonel. This novel is the semi-autobiographical account of Clemens experiences in Texas and later in the Mexican War. In the book, the main character, Bernard Lile, joins the Texas Revolution and meets many of its principal characters including Crockett. Years later he fights in the Mexican War and experiences the grim realities of combat. Clemens leaned heavily on his combat encounters to paint a realistic picture of the harsh realities of combat and camp life. A rare work that is seldom found in the original cloth.