Mordecai, Major Alfred; Schon, J. Military Commission to Europe, in 1855 and 1856 together with Rifled Infantry Arms : A Brief Description of the Modern System of Small Arms, as adopted in the various European Armies. Washington: George W. Bowman, Printer, 1861 [11896]
The binding is poor; the text and folding charts are good. Lacks the backstrip with both boards partly detached, 11 3/4 x 9 1/4 inches, 232 pages plus 12 folding plates. Fair. Hardcover.
The Rifled Infantry Arms by Schon is reprinted from the 1855 Dresden printing, translated from the German by J. Gorgas, Captain of Ordinance, United States Army. This is a US House of Representatives Document, 36th Congress, 2d Session.
The Crimean War provided examples of new military arms and tactics. These were studied and herein presented to the US House of Representatives. A timely resource, with the American Civil War soon to begin. The person who called for and empowered this investigation was none other than Jefferson Davis, who was Secretary of War in 1855.
