Damn Yankees! Washington and Lee University has a missing library book back — nearly 145 years after it was stolen by a Union soldier during the Civil War.

The first volume of W.F.P. Napier's History of the War in the Peninsula was returned recently to the Lexington, Va., school by a friend of one of the soldier's descendants, the AP reported. Thinking he was at adjoining Virginia Military Institute, soldier C.S. Gates took the book on June 11, 1864, from the library of what was then Washington College, university officials said. The theft took place as Union troops raided the area and burned VMI's buildings.

The book was passed down through C.S. Gates' descendants and came into the possession of Mike Dau, who lives near Chicago. Dau and his wife traveled to W&L in February to return the book, which he said is in good condition except for a loose binding. He told AP that he was glad he wasn't responsible for any fines.

Wow -- 145 years. Suddenly I feel much less guilty about my overdue books at the Baltimore County Library.