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.

Randall, James Ryder (1839-1908) to unknown

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05094 Author/Creator: Randall, James Ryder (1839-1908) Place Written: Baltimore, Maryland Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 20 May 1896 Pagination: 1 p. ; 27.9 x 20.1 cm. Order a Copy

Responds to a request from an unknown woman and writes out one verse of his poem, "Maryland My Maryland." States that he is not able to write out the entire poem because so many people ask for it.

Randall wrote "Maryland, My Maryland" while at school in Louisiana in 1861. Eventually "Maryland, My Maryland" was adopted as the State song of Maryland in 1939.

Randall, James Ryder, 1839-1908

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