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.

Lee, Sydney Smith, 1802-1869 [Confederate States Navy Department orders to proceed to Richmond]

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00684.13 Author/Creator: Lee, Sydney Smith, 1802-1869 Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Document signed Date: 28 November 1864 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; Height: 25 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

Partially printed document signed by Captain Sydney Smith Lee. Docket added 1 December 1864 reads: "Be pleased to assume command of the C.S. Iron-Clad 'Richmond'." Co-signed by John Mitchell aboard the Virginia. Sidney Smith Lee, older brother of Robert E. Lee, had accompanied Perry to Japan in 1853 and served as one of the early commandants of the U.S. Naval Academy Lee was commissioned as a commander in the Confederate Navy in 1861 and promoted to captain and chief of the Confederate Navy Bureau of Orders and Detail in 1864.

Lee, Sydney Smith, 1802-1869
Mitchell, John, fl. 1864
Kell, John McIntosh, 1823-1900

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources