Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Tilghman, Tench (1744-1786) to Richard Varick

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00816 Author/Creator: Tilghman, Tench (1744-1786) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 21 July 1781 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket ; 30 x 19 cm. Order a Copy

Discusses several wartime matters: George Washington's desire for Varick to build an unspecified fortification, a lack of intelligence from Nathanael Greene and the Marquis de Lafayette, and reports of "a partial action between the Marquis and Cornwallis." Also congratulates Colonel Varick on his actions at Poughkeepsie. Written in a light-hearted manner. Composed at "Head Quarters." Tilghman was Washington's aide-de-camp.

Tilghman, Tench, 1744-1786
Varick, Richard, 1753-1831

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