December 29, 1780

Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Richard K. Meade

Lafayette discusses selection of an American envoy being sent to France. Congress had decided to send an envoy extraordinary to France to secure a loan and improve supply shipments. Lafayette tried to help Alexander Hamilton attain this post, but failed. Says that all admitted Hamilton was the "best calculated for this mission," but "he is not very popular" and not a "Southern Man" so he was not chosen by the Congress. Instead John Laurens was selected. Inform his "very good friend" that a French officer will soon be arriving to meet Meade. He is happy to hear from Martha Bland that Meade…

GLC03647

28 February 1863

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Document signed

Title: Presidential authority to the Secretary of State to affix the seal to pardon John Mardes].

GLC03648

09 August 1864

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Document signed

Title: to Edward Canby re: orders to allow exportation of Texas cotton

GLC03649

10 October 1864

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Document signed

Title: Pardon of Levi Underwood

Convicted of larceny and sentenced to one year in prison. Justice associates suggested Executive clemency, and recommended a pardon. Levi was granted a full and unconditional pardon by Lincoln (c/s Seward)

GLC03650

1824

Marshall, John, 1755-1835

Autograph manuscript

Title: Supreme Court Opinion, Osborn et al. v. the Bank of the U.S.

The case upheld the primacy of Federal law over the states. Not in Rhodes' calendar of Marshall's papers (1969). Compare: writings (1839) 315-42, Dillon, Complete Constitutional Decisions of Marshall, (1903) 466-511, and other sources.

GLC03653

January 14, 1818

Monroe, James, 1758-1831

Document signed

Title: [Pardon of Henry F. Doyhar for keeping a billiard table without a license].

Countersigned by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. Fined $150. Pardoned because of his misunderstanding of the licensing requirements and his indigent circumstances.

GLC03655

9 February 1820

Monroe, James, 1758-1831

Autograph letter signed

Title: to George Hay

President Monroe writes to Hay, his son-in-law. Monroe discusses a recent political plan (possibly the Missouri Compromise), stating "My own opinion always has been that the union cannot be shaken, tho I greatly lament that a question like the present, in which its extremities are so differently circumstanc'd, and the one so badly inform'd of the condition of the other; a question too so well calculated to enlist the feelings of the one against the other, should have been found practicable in our system." In a note following the signature, Monroe notes "my communications are in profound…

GLC03656

January 21, 1860

Pierce, Franklin, 1804-1869

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John McNeil re: foreseeing civil war

Written while on vacation. Argues that Civil War is inevitable unless the Democrats regain control of the government

GLC03660

10 February 1781

Barber, Francis, 1750-1783

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Elias Dayton

Written by Lieutenant Colonel Barber of the 3rd New Jersey regiment to Colonel Dayton, Barber's brigade commander. Encloses a letter from George Washington for Dayton, who is coalescing from illness. Also sending letters from Washington to Colonels Caldwell and Friling and New Jersey Governor William Livingston that he wants Dayton to pass along (these three letters are not included here). Has been ordered to march to Morristown and will send along baggage by sleds. Mentions personnel issues in the brigade they belong to. Barber says that headquarters had put him in charge of the brigade…

GLC03662.03

20 March 1879

Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Michael Cramer re: his round-the-world trip

GLC03595

7 January 1858

Ewing, Thomas, 1829-1896

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Thomas Ewing, Sr.

Writes to his father that he has been very busy with politics. Gives his eyewitness account of the fraudulent Kansas elections of 4 January 1858. "We have warrants for the arrest of illegal voters & for judges of the Election at Kickapoo & Delaware but only caught two - the others fled ... I was at Kickapoo all day Monday, & saw more than I ever heard before of election frauds. Boys 15 years of age voted, men voted two or three times in an hour, about 50 Missourians voted, in all there were not over 450 votes put in, & yet the judges reported at the close of the polls 905…

GLC03598

28 August 1865

Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Philemon Ewing

Writes about the anticipated arrival of his wife and family. He wants the children to arrive so they may start their classes on time. States his desire to postpone building a house until the following spring. "I am more than convinced that I should hold the $30,000 at interest this winter and next spring. I can build a house to suit us Exactly." Believes they should board at a hotel for the winter. Ask Ewing to try to convince Ellen (his wife) of this, as he fears," ... she may think we must have a house at whatever cost of money or subsequent discomfort." Written on stationary marked…

GLC03600

1850-1870

Ewing Family, fl. 1850-1870

Header Record

Title: Letters of the Ewing family to William T. Sherman [Decimalized .01-.11]

Letters of the sons of Thomas Ewing, Philemon (9), Hugh (1) and Charles (1), mostly concerning family matters, including eight to General W. T. Sherman.

GLC03601

1 January 1862

Halleck, H.W. (Henry Wager), 1815-1872

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Thomas Ewing

Plans to institute martial law to punish saboteurs and guerillas. "Nothing but the severest punishment can prevent the burning of R.R. Bridges & the great destruction of human life. I shall punish all I can catch...These incendiaries have destroyed in the last 10 days $150,000 worth of R.R. property, notwithstanding that there were more than 10,000 troops kept guarding the R.R. in this state." The destruction is "not usually done by armed & open enemies, but by pretended quiet citizens, living on their farms. A bridge or building is set on fire & the culprit an hour after is…

GLC03602

1861-1870

Coit, Charles M., 1838-1878

Header Record

Title: Collection of Charles M. Coit, field and staff, 8th regiment, Connecticut, infantry [Decimalized .001-.345]

Charles Morgan Coit worked as a banker and lived with his family in Norwich, Connecticut. On 18 September 1861, at 23 years old, he enlisted in the Connecticut 8th Volunteer Infantry. During his time in the Union Army, he was promoted from 1st Lieutenant to Captain, to Major and finally to Lieutenant Colonel. Charles Morgan Coit's father, Charles Coit, had also served in the army and had been a Colonel at the time of his death in 1855. Charles M. Coit's mother, Sarah Perkins Coit; sister, Ellen Grosvenor Coit; and brother, George Douglass Coit; continued to live in Norwich and maintain the…

GLC03603

circa 1862-1865

Hopte, John W., fl. 1862-1865

Map

Title: [Pencil illustration of the Cumberland Gap]

Depicts rolling mountainsides dotted with trees. Portrays forts, roads and other details specific to Civil War sites and events. Shows a rifle pit and an American flag waving atop a fortress. Signed by Hopte, who served in Company G, 42nd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

GLC03604

1861-1864

Lyman Family

Header Record

Title: [Lyman family letters] [Decimalized .01- .32]

The three Lyman brothers came from Delaware, Ohio. They enlisted in the 18th U.S. Infantry Regiment and served in the Army of the Cumberland in Tennessee and Mississippi. The collection also includes letters from Sergeant Nelson Pierce, a friend from Delaware, Ohio, who died on 1 January 1863 from wounds sustained in the Battle of Stone River; Fred Bundy who was probably another neighbor; and George Ellis, whose relationship with the Lymans is not known. Ellis served in the Union Navy and saw action at Corinth, Mississippi, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana. Letters also describe the…

GLC03606

1861-1863

Brigham, George, fl. 1861-1863

Header Record

Title: [Collection of George and Bart Brigham] [Decimalized .01-.08]

Letters are from George Brigham and H. B. Brigham to their sister Lucretia. With a hand-drawn "Plan of the Battle of Fredericksburg, VA."

GLC03607

1863-1865

Header Record

Title: Collection of three items related to Dighton Goddard [Decimalized]

GLC03608

September 1789

Rhode Island

Broadside

Title: An Act relative to a convention ratifying the Constitution

John Carter imprint.

GLC03609

October 1788

Rhode Island. General Assembly

Broadside

Title: State of Rhode-Island, and Providence-Plantations. In General Assembly, October Session, 1788.

This document is a copy of a proposed amendment to the proposed Constitution that was distributed to town-clerks throughout Rhode Island to provide information about what progress was being made towards ratification. This particular broadside contains an amendment proposed by the General Assembly of New York. The document was printed in Providence, Rhode Island by Bennett Wheeler and is docketed on verso.

GLC03610

5 May 1862

McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John Sedgwick

Major General McClellan writes to Brigadier General Sedgwick to discuss his plans for attacking Yorktown. He directs Sedgwick to move toward Yorktown and take additional orders from General Franklin. Written on stationary marked "head-Quarters, Army of the Potomac".

GLC03612

21 December 1791

Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804

Letter signed

Title: to the President and Directors of Bank of the United States

As Secretary of Treasury, Hamilton requests that the President and Directors of the Bank of the United States furnish the Collectors of Import and Tonnage throughout the United States with the signatures of the President and Cashier. This will enable them to detect counterfeits in cash notes of the Bank of the United States. Hamilton also mentions the payment details arranged with the Collectors of the District of Philadelphia, the city where the Bank was based.

GLC03613

1839-1875

Reynolds, Joseph, fl. 1839-1875

Header Record

Title: [Collateral collection of 18 items containing mostly printed general orders detailing other commissions and appointments of General Reynolds.] [decimalized]

Includes official notifaction of Joseph J. Reynolds commission to major general of volunteers, dated November 29, 1862, signed by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The only letter in the collection (#16) describes various improvements to the city of San Antonio. GLC 3614 is the official commission of Joseph J. Reynolds, signed by Abraham Lincoln and countersigned by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, to the rank of Major General. This collateral collection contains mostly printed general orders detailing other commissions and appointments of General Reynolds. Reynolds, a West Point…

GLC03614.02

4 January 1864

Peyster, John Watts de, 1821-1907

Letter signed

Title: to Edwin D. Morgan

Encloses an address he delivered in Vermont on secession in Switzerland (not present) and asks Morgan to read it as an example for the United States. Writes, "I sincerely hope that you will do me the honor to read it in as much as the treatment and fate of Secession in Switzerland would have served as a complete lesson to our authorities had they been willing to profit by the experience of others." Printed illustration ("Battle of Pittsburg Landing, April 6, 1862") on blank leaf of paper.

GLC03615