[Rarebooks] FS: A. W. Greely's copy of Schwatka's A SUMMER IN ALASKA, 1893, price reduced

[Charles Agvent]

  Price reduced:  Was  $250.00   Now  $150.00

[A. W. GREELY] SCHWATKA, Frederick. A SUMMER IN ALASKA. St. Louis: 
Henry, 1893. Early Edition. Illustrated with plates and maps. From the 
library of A. W. Greely, with his bookplate, which is the cover 
illustration of his THREE YEARS ON ARCTIC SERVICE, on the pastedown. 
Fine association, as Greely installed the telegraph system in Alaska and 
later wrote a handbook on the state. Moderate wear. Very Good.

Adolphus W. Greely, the Signal Corps' fifth Medal of Honor winner began 
his life of service on some of the Civil War's bloodiest battlefields - 
Balls Bluff, Antietam and Fredericksburg. . After rising from Private to 
Sergeant in the 19th Massachusetts, Greely accepted a commission in the 
81st Colored Troops in 1863.

Lieutenant Greely, Regular Army, saw frontier service in places like 
Wyoming and Utah. In his spare time, he studied telegraph and 
electricity. The training served him well when he was detailed to the 
Signal Corps in 1867.

After serving as a "trouble-shooter" in the construction of frontier 
telegraph lines, Greely volunteered in 1881, to lead an Arctic weather 
expedition. On a three year stint to Ellesmere Island near the north 
pole, Greely's party amassed a great deal of data on Arctic Weather and 
tidal conditions, but was almost wiped out when relief ships failed to 
reach them for two successive summers. When they were finally rescued on 
22 June 1884, nineteen of Greely's 25-man crew had perished from 
starvation, drowning, hypothermia, and in one case, gunshot wounds from 
an execution ordered by Greely. The survivors were themselves near 
death, and one did die on the homeward journey. The returning survivors 
were venerated as heroes, though the heroism was tainted by sensational 
accusations of cannibalism during the remaining days of low food.

In 1887 President Grover Cleveland advanced Greely from rank of Captain 
to Brigadier General with his Appointment as Chief Signal Officer. In 
the following years, Greely's innovation led to the military use of 
wireless telegraphy, the airplane, the automobile and other modern devices.

Greely retired in 1908. After a trip around the world, he helped found 
the National Geographic Society and the first free public library in 
Washington, D.C.

On his 91st birthday, March 27, 1935, Greely was presented with a 
special Medal of Honor for "his life of splendid public service." Greely 
died the following October and was buried with full honors in Arlington 
National Cemetery.         $150.00

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