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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.

Blanchard, Ira (b. 1835) to Mary (Wright) Kellogg

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.31.16 Author/Creator: Blanchard, Ira (b. 1835) Place Written: Rialto, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 18 August 1862 Pagination: 4 p. ; 21.1 x 25.1 cm. Order a Copy

Blanchard writes to Mary Wright from camp on the Hatchie River. Mentions the warm weather and his illness. Reports on the imminent arrival of 600,000 more troops. Anticipates the end of the rebellion soon. Comments on the Confiscation Act of 1862 and how it "... will be a severe blow to rebels if properly carried out by our generals." Says they eat peaches and melons which grow in great abundance. Offers his opinion on what to do with the negroes; "...give them a spot of earth where they may dwell by themselves away from the whites, let the white women marry the white man and the black woman marry the black man. Let them be two nations..." Letter has an emblem.

Blanchard enlisted 13 June 1861 in Illinois as a Sargeant. He mustered into "H" Co., Illinois, Infantry.

Blanchard, Ira, 1835-?
Kellogg, Mary Wright, 1844-1912

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