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Isaac Shelby (1750-1826) first governor of Kentucky and Revolutionary War officer, a scarce and historically significant 1823 monograph addressing the long-standing controversy over the leadership of the Overmountain Men’s victory at the Battle of Kings Mountain (1780). Cover has string binding and handwritten inscription with possible Shelby signature: “Battle of Kings Mountain by Isaac Shelby.” Inscribed “James Rhea, April 1823,” on page 1. Possible Shelby signature again on page 24, below a printer’s ornament “Finis,” which the Library of Congress attributes to a Lexington, KY imprint of Thomas Smith. 8 1/2 inches L x 5 1/4 W. 24 pages.
Notes: “First brought to public attention by Isaac Shelby during his race for the Kentucky governorship in 1812, the charge that William Campbell had exhibited cowardice at the 1780 Battle of King’s Mountain, and had received undue recognition for that victory, resurfaced when four private letters from Isaac Shelby to John Sevier of Tennessee were published by Sevier’s son, George Washington Sevier, in the Nashville Gazette in 1821. One of Campbell’s grandsons, William C. Preston, vehemently denied the charges in several newspaper articles. Shelby published [this] pamphlet two years later to substantiate his statement “Battle of King’s Mountain: Address to the Public Relating to William C. Preston’s Article Entitled, “Colonel Campbell and Governor Shelby” [Lexington, Ky., 1823; Shoemaker, Richard H., comp., “A Checklist of American Imprints for 1820–1829” (11 vols.; New York, 1964–72). 14105]), to which Campbell’s supporters provided a blizzard of rejoinders, including one from Campbell’s son-in-law, Francis Preston. Shelby’s charges were never proved. The letters, newspaper articles, and pamphlet are published in Lyman C. Draper, “King’s Mountain and Its Heroes” (Cincinnati, 1881), 558–91. For a fuller discussion of the controversy, see Agnes Graham Sanders Riley, “The Shelby-Campbell King’s Mountain Controversy and the Gubernatorial Campaign of 1812,” Filson Club History Quarterly 66 (1992): 220–31.”
See also: “Francis Preston to James Madison, 15 May 1823,” Founders Online, National Archives. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Retirement Series, vol. 3, 1 March 1823 – 24 February 1826, ed. David B. Mattern, J. C. A. Stagg, Mary Parke Johnson, and Katherine E. Harbury. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2016, pp. 55–56.]
See also NYPL.org: “A reply to a newspaper article by William C. Preston, entitled: “Colonel Campbell and Governor Shelby.” Printer’s ornament on p. 24 appears in other Lexington imprints of Thomas Smith, according to the Library of Congress.” Title Battle of King’s Mountain Author Shelby, Isaac, 1750-1826 Publication Date [1823] Imprint [Lexington, Ky. : T. Smith, 1823]. Pages 26 Language English Document Type Monograph Sabin Collection Number 80116 Physical Description 24 p.; 20 cm Source Library American Antiquarian Society Gale Document Number GALE| CY0110182635.
PROVENANCE: Private Johnson City collection, by descent in a historic East Tennessee family.
CONDITION: Cover is in fragile condition with edge chipping. Foxing to all interior pamphlet pages, some bent page corners, scattered creases and edge chipping.
