Marshall, John. The Life of George Washington, Commander in Chief of the American Forces, during the War which Established the Independence of his Country (Volume II.). Philadelphia: Printed and Published by C. P. Wayne, 1805. [10907]
Full brown leather binding with a black leather title label, gilt lines & decorations to spine, binding very good with no cracks or other damage, 8 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches. Printed bookplate of "Frankfort Union Library Society," contemporary with the book. Lacks a frontispiece plate. vii, [1], 516, 67 generally clean pages; scattered foxing, one leaf is torn about 3 inches at the hinge, with no loss of text. Good. Hardcover.
Title continues: And First President of the United States. Compiled under the inspection of the Honourable Bushrod Washington, from Original Papers bequeathed to him by his deceased relative, and not in possession of the Author. To which is prefixed, An Introduction, containing a compendious view of the Colonies planted by the English on the continent of North America, from their settlement to the commencement of that War which terminated in their Independence.
This volume relates the life of George Washington from his birth in 1732 to the battles of Trenton and Princeton in December of 1776 and January of 1777. It presents Washington as an officer in the French and Indian War, and tells of his exploits in western Pennsylvania. Marshall tells of the political and military oppressions of the British upon the American colonists in the period between the wars that led to the colonies banding together in opposition to the British government. The beginning of the Revolution with the insurrection in North Carolina begins on page 137, and from there to last page (516) is an in-depth account of the War. The Notes (last 67 pp.,) are transcribed documents that explain the text, some by Washington, and by others.
John Marshall (1755-1835), Revolutionary War officer, began a brilliant political career after the war, served as Attorney General of Virginia, as a US Representative from Virginia to Congress, as US Secretary of State under President John Adams, and as the 4th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
"After his appointment to the Supreme Court, Marshall began working on a biography of George Washington. He did so at the request of his close friend, Associate Justice Bushrod Washington, who had inherited the papers of his uncle. Marshall's The Life of George Washington, the first biography about a U. S. President ever published, spanned five volumes and just under one thousand pages...historians have often praised the accuracy and well-reasoned judgments of Marshall's biography, while noting his frequent paraphrases of published sources..." - wiki article.
