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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.

Perry, Oliver Hazard, 1785-1819 to Benjamin W. Crowninshield

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00496.273.01 Author/Creator: Perry, Oliver Hazard, 1785-1819 Place Written: Newport, Rhode Island Type: Autograph letter signed Date: September 4, 1817 Pagination: Order a Copy

Perry writes to the secretary of the navy to recommend Dr. Richard Stevens for a position as a surgeon in the navy. Cites his experience as a surgeon's mate aboard the frigate Java in the Mediterranean and attests to his "extensive acquirements and eminent professional qualifications." The letter is pasted to a piece of paper. Pasted to the verso is an unrelated, undated note pertaining to a woman's request to have her husband's remains buried in the proper cemetery, which had been communicated through Commodore Perry.

Perry, Oliver Hazard, 1785-1819
Crowninshield, Benjamin Williams, 1772-1851
Stevens, Richard, fl. 1817

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