1864 CIVIL WAR - CAMP STONEMAN. Gifted to a Soldier's Wife Before His Departure for Battle.

An very nice pocket-sized "Pearl 32mo" New Testament Civil War soldier’s Bible, but of rather non-traditional usage. 

In October of 1864, Camp Stoneman, located at Giesboro Point in Washington, D.C., was being used as a primary depot for the dismounted cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. Thousands of Union troopers arrived there to be refitted, assigned new horses, or recover in the camp's expansive pavilion hospitals . . . all to prepare to be redeployed for the final "total war" campaigns of William Tecumseh Sherman that would ultimately bring the conflict to an end.

The American Bible Society mass-produced these tiny, durable editions specifically for wartime distribution. Fitting perfectly into a soldier's breast pocket, they were often supplied to soldiers via organizations like the U.S. Christian Commission, especially through hubs like Camp Stoneman. This is a fascinating example. Most bear the location and regiment information of the soldier who carried. Mr. Wheeler has, instead of carrying the Bible into battle for his own spiritual protection, apparently gifted it to his wife as he prepared to depart the relative safety of Washington for the battlefront. I don't recall seeing an example used in this way. An intimate record of domestic devotion during wartime.

Inscribed simply, Mrs. Mary J. Wheeler From Her Husband. Oct. 1864. Camp Stoneman. D. C.

The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: Translated Out of the Original Greek; And with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised. New York. American Bible Society. 1864. Pearl 32mo. 

Good condition, likely his field-used copy issued by the Christian Commission or Sanitary Commission and gifted to his wife