William Sherman's copy of George Barnard book with photos of his famous campaign sells for $144,000 at auction; his sword goes for $130,000

Remarkable clouds above railroad destruction in Atlanta (Fleischer's Auctions)

A rare copy of George N. Barnard’s “Photographic Views of Sherman’s Campaign,” thought to belong to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and signed in 1886 by his son Philemon, was sold at auction Tuesday for $144,000, before a buyer's premium was added.

The Barnard album garnered the highest bid for Sherman-related items in the Fleischer's Auction. 

Notable items from the family, many of whom live in western Pennsylvania, included the general’s copy of the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, with his annotations ($70,000), a trunk and sword $130,000) used early in the Civil War, shoulder straps with rank insignia, photographs of Sherman and his daughter Minnie and a family Bible ($17,000). The insignia sold for $37,000.

The Sherman House Museum in Lancaster, Ohio, said it had acquired the sword. It had asked for donations and pledges to make the purchase.

A map of Sherman’s March to the Sea went for $22,000. All of these prices were before buyer's premiums. With those, according to Fleischer's Auctions, the Sherman lots netted about $600,000.

The Barnard volume -- featuring 10 x 13 inches images -- includes scenes of the occupation of Nashville, the 1864 battles around Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain, the Atlanta Campaign, Savannah, Ga., and South Carolina. In May 1866, Barnard traced the route of Sherman's North Georgia campaign, taking pictures at Resaca and elsewhere.

When Barnard arrived in Atlanta he took more, including his famous views of the downtown area that had been burned by the Federals before they left on November 15-16, 1864, says Civil War historian and author Steve Davis. 

Many copies of the volume are held by museums and other institutions.

Keith F. Davis, an expert on Barnard's work, said the volume went for a good but not an extravagant price.

"The buyer was astute and did very well," Davis said in a email, "It is so hard to guess how many complete copies of this are still in private hands, and thus could come on the market in the future, but I suspect the answer is: very, very few. Then you add the "subjective' factor -- the unbeatable provenance -- and the rarity of this album goes up several more notches."